In 2016, a seal was reported in a very special place: Lake Veluwe! A lake with fresh water. No problem for a seal to stay here for a while, but seal Hulcky turned out to be very weakened by a lungworm infection. That's why we were called in to catch and help the animal, and eventually release it back into its actual living environment.
A seal at Bad Hulckesteijn
Hulcky first showed up at a bungalow park in Nijkerk. At first glance, there was no reason to intervene as she appeared to be in reasonable condition. It is not necessarily a bad thing when seals enter fresh water. After all, fish swim around there. But after observing her, we came to the conclusion that she really needed help. She seemed to suffer from a lungworm infection and the area where she swam was very busy. But how do you catch a seal in a lake?
Catching Hulcky
That turned out to be quite difficult. The Nijkerk animal ambulance tried it first. They didn't get it right away. That is why the local seal guard came to the rescue. He almost succeeded but because bystanders got too close, Hulcky fled back into the water. Once in the wate,r you really can't keep up with a seal!
The next day our Stranding coordinator back then, Michael went to the lake. He wanted to try to catch Hulcky at sunrise. And that worked, with the help of animal ambulance Nijkerk. They wanted to name the seal after the place where it was found: Bad Hulckesteijn. And so it became Hulcky.
Recovery and release
Hulcky's recovery went well. She was cured of the lungworms with the help of medication. Thanks to good nutrition, she was able to rebuild her reserves that she herself had used up in the previous time. After about two months, Hulcky was ready to be released. This time not in fresh water, but in the salt water of the Wadden Sea. Dierenambulance Nijkerk was there to see this special seal embark on a new adventure.
