Seals and Puffins at Gweek

I'm sure that anybody interested in seals and their welfare in the Uk will be aware of the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.

It has been at its current location since 1975, since founder Ken Jones and his wife required larger premises for their growing family of rescued seals.

I think my first visit must have been around the late '70s, and I have seen the site grow, and the number of pools increased to ensure that as many rescued seals as possible have the opportunity to receive help and rehabiliatation before being released back into the Cornish seas. I believe the average number of creatures that are rescued number over 70 each year. Most of these are young pups, aged under 6 weeks and not ready to survive alone without the milk of their mother. The majority of these will be released once they are deemed fit and able to survive back in the wild, but the Sanctuary also offers permanent homes to those with issues or injuries that make them vulnerable and at risk. 

There was just one small pup in the Hospital when we visited, named Caterpillar to fit in with this season's name theme of bugs and insects. The seals are kept in isolation where they can be carefully monitored. Purple Hairstreak had been moved down to the Nursery Pools, to learn to swim and catch fish in the water. Whilst they do try and encourage the seals to mix and share at this stage, the pup in the 2nd pool has been deemed too greedy, so each pup is currently separate to enable them to put on the required weight before release. Klaus and Sun Beetle share the next pool. They are ready to be released very soon, and have been fitted with tracking devices by Exeter University to monitor their movements once they leave the Sanctuary.

The other pools house the residents, and it is always nice to watch feeding times. Seals may be fed by individual keepers to ensure that food/medication is administered correctly, and the animals can be checked and observed for any welfare issues.

On this visit, we were able to meet the puffins for the first time. The enclosure previously housed penguins, but these were transferred to Five Sisters Zoo in Scotland earlier this year. In their place, 10 puffins from a sister rescue in Iceland have been introduced, which allows more space for ongoing rescues at their previous home. Gweek will provide a permanent home to these puffins, they all have injuries or issues that prevent them being able to survive in the wild.

You can now walk down through woodland alongside the creek to where the Beaver Project has been established. You can see evidence of dams and lodges bulit by the pair of beavers that now live here. One path is currently out of bounds while they rehabilitate a young beaver in the cabin and attached enclosure. We were treated to the rare sight of this beaver in the stream, and the keepers were quite jealous when we reported this sighting to them! 

We had a hot pasty and sausage roll from the cafe for lunch, and thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon at Gweek. Our admission tickets allow us free entry at any time in the next 12 months, and I feel sure we will be taking up that option in April or May next year.