Rasism among seals ? Vets say seal pup was attacked by other seals in racist attack | Daily Mail Online
No. The injuries were probably caused by an adult female if this little guy got too close to her pup or tried to suckle from her. As the article says black pups are uncommon; but grey seals are very variable in colour, the wardens at Donna Nook say that after the pups have moulted their woolly coats, the darker ones are the males. Alan
They are rare, but within that particular population more so than elsewhere (as mentioned in the article). Male grey seals are darker than the females but they're not usually all black.
The title is a load of balls up! I would surely have to make a complaint over this to liken this kind of natural behavior among seals to an unfamiliar pup to their own if it where in my neck of the woods! But of course …, it is the DM! :roll eyes:
Lizzie the Seal has passed away at the age of 41 "We are saddened to announce the sudden passing of another of our elderly residents - our gentle female Grey seal Lizzie who was aged 41. Lizzie epitomized the Sanctuary’s second chance role when she arrived from Dartmoor Zoo in 2001. She had been on her own for many years and had a long-term eye problem and it was thought that the Sanctuary could provide her with the perfect retirement home where she could take it easy, have some company of her own, as well as receive some expert attention for her eyes. Little did she know we had a lot in store for her! Lizzie was introduced to our Convalescent Pool with six other resident seals, as well as many rehabbing pups over the years. Some seals, even with perfect vision, may have shied away from all the commotion, but Lizzie seemed to thrive with all the company. Whether it was new pups or new residents arriving into her pool, Lizzie’s gentle and maternal nature always shone through making her a quietly popular resident. Her best friend was one of our other blind females Atlanta and they could often be seen sunbathing together. But it was clear that all our resident seals, even our matriarch Sheba had the upmost respect for Lizzie. Soon after Lizzie arrived she was scheduled to have surgery to help give her better eyesight but sadly the vets were unable to operate due to the complications of aesthetic. It was agreed that a blind Lizzie was much better than no Lizzie at all. It was a further 10 years before eye surgery was repeated at the Sanctuary. Lizzie LOVED her food and was by far our largest female in the pool – her blindness never stopped her finding her fish!! She knew the call of her name and whenever she was in need of some extra attention the team could call her out of the group to receive extra food or medication. She was such a distinctive seal, many guests will remember her swimming or sunbathing with her tongue poking out! Over the last few weeks and months Lizzie had enjoyed the breeding season shenanigans of the younger seals chasing each other around the pool. She had also just finished moulting but this moult had appeared to take it out of her. She had lost a considerable amount of weight and was unable to regain condition despite the team’s best efforts to get her to eat more. The vet had prescribed precautionary treatment which she had willingly taken but with only slight improvement. Lizzie passed away quickly with the team around her on Tuesday 21st March. Lizzie will be remembered for the true lady that she was – always gentle and always gracious. She was adored by her pool partners and her team and we consider ourselves extremely lucky to have been able to give Lizzie 16 years of company and love."
Cornish Seal Sanctuary has received 10 Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) from Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland. These are rescued birds that could no longer be released for various reasons. They can be seen in the new Puffin Island enclosure. Source: Facebook Cornish Seal Sanctuary
Some more information about the arrival of the puffins in this article - an important thing to note is that they have moved into what was the penguin enclosure. The Humboldt penguins have in turn left the collection and moved to Five Sisters Zoo, to become part of a larger group. The article can be read below: Cornwall now home to UK's first rescued puffins - straight from Iceland
Excellent news - having seen puffins wild in the Inner Hebrides and being amazed by them, I have long since hoped for them to make it to the UK scene, although on my one occasion encountering them in zoos (with the Kings at Hagenbeck), I was disappointed by their inactivity, perhaps due to the fact that only one individual was held. 10 puffins, however, will not have such an issue - hopefully they have an aviary with appropriate flight space, and hopefully I will be able to make it to Cornwall soon to see them for myself!
That article is such rubbish. But I discovered recently that something like one in 400 grey seals are melanistic-pure black- like this one. Its injuries will not have been caused by 'racism' though- unusually coloured animals are not 'bullied' by conspecifics who instead completely accept them as normal.
A win win for both collections and I am happy ... nay chuffed to say the least that the Sanctuary can now call home to local puffins as it is a local conservation story that needs to be told. Their populations and those of other sea birds like shearwaters, guillemots, petrels .... et al are seriously under threat ... from climate change, overfishing and depleted fish resources around the region.
