Baby NZ Fur Seal Released to the wild!
IT’S the time of year when our oceans teem with life.
The rescue of a wounded baby New Zealand fur seal comes with a reminder from
the Pet Porpoise Pool’s Dr Duan March for people coming across wildlife to look,
but don’t approach and certainly don’t touch.
“She was found resting along a walking trail in a public area in Port
Macquarie with a wound in her abdomen from what is expected to be a cookiecutter
shark bite,” said Pet Porpoise Pool spokeswoman Angela Van Den Bosch.
“National Parks and Wildlife contacted our team and arranged for transfer for
treatment with rehabilitation expected for the next couple of weeks.”
The main objective is to release the seal back to the wild later this month,
to make her journey south.
Luckily, this little seal is recovering well from the suspected shark bite,
thanks to some TLC from Dr March and his team.
“Treatment includes rehydration, antibiotics and somewhere to rest up,” he
said.
“We’re force-feeding her fish that we catch – seals don’t like eating dead
fish.”
This isn’t the first time the Pet Porpoise Pool has been called on to provide
shelter for wounded seals.
“We have released up to 20 seals successfully back into the oceans over the
past 15 years, being tagged and successfully tracked and doing well,” Angela
said.
If someone is concerned that a seal is injured they should call the
local National Parks and Wildlife office on 6652 0900.
