Amito

Amito is our first rescued seal pup of 2010. Common seal pups are normally born from around the middle of June but Amito was found at the end of May.

He was first seen alone on a beach south of Bowmore by a local woman named Heather Brodie as she walked her dogs. A lot of the seal pups we rescue are found this way by locals. This was on Thursday the 27th of May. Heather phoned my Mum on the 29th as the pup was still there. My Mum told Heather that the pup was
obviously in need of urgent help and this was normally too early for common seal pups to be born. We rely on local members of the community like Heather to contact us if they see a seal in trouble, even if they are not sure it is always best to call.

Most people don’t know that on Islay you won’t find a common seal pup on a beach without it’s mother unless there is very likely to be something wrong. Common seals live out on the skerries, the rocks out at sea, unlike grey seals who have their pups on beaches. Common seal pups go into the water with their mothers from birth and are seldom left alone.

With advice from my Mum the seal pup was taken to Heather’s house and my Mum picked it up. She took with her a lamb feeding tube and warmed some rehydration fluid to give to the seal pup immediately. The pup hadn’t been with it’s mother for at least four days, so wouldn’t have drunk any milk and would have been dehydrated.

Amito weighed 15lb when he came in. Normally birth weight is 23lb. He was covered with lanugo, a fluffy grey fur normally shed at birth, which took nearly a week to fall out.

Amito had no teeth and they didn’t start to grow for about two weeks. He had no umbilical cord so my Mum estimated that he was about a week old. She knows this because she has had seals orphaned almost from birth and observed how long it takes for the cord to dry up and fall off. His lungs were remarkably mature, otherwise he would not have survived like many other premature pups.

It is a slow and complicated process feeding seal pups which would normally be drinking their mother’s milk, only experts with experience manage to do this.

Amito is doing well and eating plenty of cut up fish and enjoys playing in the bath. When he is strong enough he will live move to a tank outside until he is healthy and weighs enough to be released back into the wild, usually in the Autumn.

If you see an injured or an abandoned seal pup and you don’t know who to contact in your local area you can contact my Mum and she will pass you on to the right person or organisation who can help. 01496 302411 please leave a message if she is not available immediately.