Meet Beanz – the adorable baby seal who is lucky to be alive after being separated from his mother at just two weeks old.
The tiny pup, who has now been taken in by a wildlife centre to be hand-reared, was found alone, weak and undernourished on a beach.
He weighed just 7.85kg – but the usual weight for newborn seal pups ranges from eight to 12 kilos.
The common seal has been taken to RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, where he has been named Beanz and is being looked after.
Alison Charles, manager at East Winch, said: ‘This pup is lucky he was found when he was.
‘We believe he had been separated from his mum and would have perished without her milk. He had lost a lot of weight and looked like a bag of bones.
‘We are doing all we can to make sure he is fully rehabilitated and recovered before being released back into the wild.
‘We’ve named him Beanz as this year’s theme for common seals is beans, pulses and rice and it really suits him!
‘He’s our first common seal pup at the centre this season so we thought Beanz was an appropriate name for him.
‘He’s currently being fed on a diet of liquidised herring which we like to call “fish soup”.’
The wildlife centre is currently caring for Beanz and over 300 other wild animals at this time, with increasingly stretched resources.
And they anticipate Beanz will not be the only abandoned seal they take in this summer.
Alison added: ‘In recent years we have taken in a huge number of sick and injured seals so we are expecting the same for 2020.
What to do if you see a baby seal alone
It’s not unusual to see a seal pup by itself, says the RSPCA. Seal mums leave their pups very early on in life, when they are weaned at three to four weeks old. The charity advises if you find a seal pup that looks fit and healthy and shows no signs of distress, monitor it first from a safe distance for 24 hours.
Too many seal pups are taken into captivity because people mistakenly think they’ve been abandoned.
Baby seals can be separated from their mothers by storms and others may not feed properly for some reason and need help. An easy way to tell if they need help is:
- a healthy seal pup looks like a big, stuffed maggot without a neck
- an unhealthy seal pup looks thin (but not bony) and has a visible neck, like a dog.
If the mother does not return within 24 hours, or you think that the pup is sick or injured – please keep at a safe distance and call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999
Reasons to keep away from seals:
- They can give a nasty bite, which will become infected by the bacteria that live in a seal’s mouth
- Don’t allow dogs or other animals to harass a seal – it could be scared back into the water and washed out to sea by strong currents
- Never put a seal pup back in the sea as it may get into difficulty
‘This means that vast resources are in demand here at East Winch to help us treat Beanz and the other pups that we will care for this season.’
The RSPCA warns it’s important the public never approach seals and keep any dogs well away and on a lead, as these are wild animals and can have a nasty bite.
The RSPCA also advises the public not to approach pups they see, but monitor them from a safe distance for a 24-hour period, to see if the mother returns.
If not, a rescue team should be called using the 24-hour emergency line on 0300 1234 999.
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