Seal Rehabilitation and Release
Our Mission
Our mission is to help protect, rescue, treat and release both Common/Harbour seals and Gray seals along the Caithness Coastline.
How you can help
Donations
All donations are used to run the centre through the pupping seasons. These will include the costs for water, electricity, maintenance, food, cleaning/disinfecting products, veterinary visits & treatments. And of course the biggest cost being food, namely fish.
It can sometimes take up to four months to rehabilitate a pup ready for its release date. Possibly longer if there are any underlying problems.
It is very time consuming but we are dedicated and love what we do.
Food
A gray seal’s (Halichoerus grypus) diet largely depends on what species are available in their surrounding environment, but around the UK coastline common prey species are sand eels, whiting and flatfish. They are therefore known to dive, as these prey species are benthic dwellers meaning they are usually found on the bottom of the seabed. Common/Harbour seals (Phoca vitulin) frequently congregate in harbours, bays, sandy intertidal zones, and estuaries in pursuit of prey fish such as salmon, menhaden, anchovy, sea bass, herring, mackerel, cod, whiting and flatfish, and occasionally shrimp, crabs, mollusks, and squid.
Any fishermen who would like to donate some of their catch, this would be much appreciated. (Fish preferably)
Care
Seals are cared for around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They are fed four times a day as pups starting with a seal soup. Stage two is when we switch on to being assist-fed whereby we hand feed whole fish. Once this has been achieved and the pup is accepting whole fish readily, they will then get fed whole fish in the large swimming pool where they will learn to catch it for themselves, at the same time, exercising those swimming muscles.
All care givers are Marine Medics with varying amounts of experience.
Did you know?
It is understood that seals use their whiskers to help them detect prey underwater – particularly if it’s murky or dark!
Help us continue our work.
Looking after these beautiful marine mammals is very important to us and every bit of support is much appreciated.
Contact us
Telephone: +44 1847851927
E-mail: sealrehabrelease2022@hotmail.com
Address: Windhaven, Brough, Caithness, KW14 8YE
Facebook page: Caithness Seal Rehab & Release
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