An update about the injured grey seal pups

Bibble underwent surgery on his hindflipper last Sunday, because his toe had to be amputated due to a severe infection. The surgery went well, and Bibble is now recovering in Phase 1. He is still a bit quiet, probably due to the pain from the surgery.

Codie and Sophronia are recovering well and are in Phase 2 together. Codie's eye has been removed and the surgical wound is as good as healed. Sophronia's deep neck wound and damaged eye are clean and almost healed.

Codie in Phase 2

Witje had a swollen flipper and a damaged eye, both of which have healed. He also has pebbles in his stomach, but doesn't seem to be bothered by them, and they are decreasing. This is normal in some other seal species, so we are keeping an eye on it. We also sedated Witje yesterday to remove a loose tooth and cleaned the wounds in his mouth for healing. He is now recovering in Phase 1.

And then there is Jutter. Jutter has many issues, including multiple fractures, swallowing and stomach problems, and possibly a bone infection in his hind flipper. Unfortunately, we keep discovering more issues almost every check-up. Yesterday, we started feeding him fish, as salmon porridge doesn’t provide enough nutrients long-term. If this doesn’t go well, humane euthanasia may be the best option, as he is suffering from many issues and we cannot maintain his condition without proper feeding. The feeding is going reasonably well so far, and if this continues, we will reassess the bone infection in a week and adjust treatment accordingly.

Jutter

We’d like to end with good news: thanks to your support, Lophi has fully recovered from his eye surgery and is being released back into the wild today! This is why we do it!

Will you help support the injured pups? We receive no government funding, so every cent goes directly to seal care. You can donate via this page or by adopting a seal.