Snowbird ( our adopted seal) was rescued on the 19th November from Spanish Point in Co. Clare. She was around 3 weeks old and was very small weighing only 14 kg when she should have been around 40 kg at this age. She was brought from West Clare to the Seal Rescue Ireland sanctuary in Courtown and it was from here that the 5th & 6th Class students decided to adopt her.
Snowbird when she was found 19.11.2015
Snowbird when she was found 19.11.2015
It looked like she had been separated from mum for some time, as she had lost all condition leaving her emaciated and very weak. She was very dehydrated and had a lot of wounds all over her body.
Thankfully most of the wounds are superficial and they look like they had been caused by a bird pecking at her. With obviously being so weak she could not fight them off.
Snowbird was initially given a lot of fluids for hydration, antibiotics to make sure there was no infection in the wounds and of course heat lamps and blankets top keep her nice and warm in our ICU.
After a few days she started to become more active and we started to introduce fish soup into her feeds.
She started to improve very quickly after this so we moved her into kennels to give her more room to move about and also to give her access to supervised baths. With being so skinny we had to be careful she didn’t get too cold in the water, although she knew when she had enough and she would climb out back under her heat lamp.
After a week of being in kennels Snowbird was getting very feisty and was becoming harder to tube feed. We made the decision to leave her fish in the bath and within a day she was munching away on her own.
Snowbird is doing so much better and she will stay in the kennels for a little while longer until she has put on some more weight.
Snowbird 15.12.2015
Once she is a little chunkier she will join the other pups in the pools for her last stage of rehabilitation.
Here the pups have more space to swim and exercise, other seals to socialise with and compete for food against, and most importantly they have limited human interaction.
Whilst in the kennels the seals have regular contact with people in order to be fed, given medication and any injuries or wounds treated, so it is important that we keep our distance and allow them to become independent so that they can thrive when they are released back into the wild.
Once Snowbird reaches 35kg in weight she will be ready to be released into the wild where she belongs.
Please follow Seal Rescue Ireland on Facebook for Pup updates, photos and videos of Snowbird and the other pup’s progress at the sanctuary.
On Monday the 21st of December, to accommodate the large numbers there will be two Christmas Celebration shows held in the hall. The first will be during the day starting at 12.30 and the second in the evening at 7.30. Please choose which show you wish to attend. All students will attend both shows.
