( Overview
/ Two Bullocks on a Boat Go West
Glengarriff Bay has a well known haul out rocks for seals where the ferries stop for the passengers to view them.
There are large numbers of Harbour Seals in the bay. Also known as common seals, they are brown, silvery white, tan or grey with distinctive v-shaped nostrils. An adult can attain a length of 1.85m and a mass of 168kg. Females outlive males (30-35 years versus 20-25 years).
Early in the morning after the stormy night, we could hear splashing and sucking at our boat hull, and when we investigated it was a little seal.
It was visiting all the boats, but by the next morning we realised its cries / bark were not reaching its mother, and I called Ireland Seal Rescue. They took details and I sent photos, but as it was still in the water there was little they could do unless it hauled out on land.
When we were out in the dinghy I was scanning all banks for the seal, and all skies for the eagles!
It wasn’t until we returned to Avalon that we saw it had hauled out on to our neighbouring yacht.
I contacted Ireland Seal Rescue who said Rhapsody had already phoned, and one of their volunteers was on the way. Pascale and Henri weren’t on board, but when they returned, they were able to step around the seal without disturbing it.
Ireland Seal Rescue kept us posted, and when Susy arrived after an hour or so she phoned to find out where we were. She thought the boat was on dry land! Sadly as Henri got into their dinghy to pick Susy up from shore, the seal must have felt stronger from its rest, and slipped back into the water.
We thought all was lost, but it was decided that Kevin’s suggestion of using a landing net might work, as the pup was so young and didn’t yet have teeth.
Henri and Susy slowly rowed after the seal who had started swimming between boats again. To our surprise, they quickly found and scooped the pup into the net.
Relief all round.
The pup being lifted into a rescue box.
A job very well done by Susy, Henri and Pascale.
Henri and Pasquale later sent us photos in which it can be seen just how young the pup is; it still has the umbilical cord attached. I also heard from Ireland Seal Rescue to say the seal was on its way to Wexford - very fragile, but hopefully going to be OK.
The pupping season for Harbour Seals is June and July. Females bear a single pup after a nine month gestation, which they care for alone. Pups can weigh up to 16kg and can swim or dive within hours of birth, but they need their mothers fat rich milk before being weaned at 4-6 weeks.
The wildlife here seems to like boarding boats. In the middle of the night we were woken by a big thump, followed by the sight of an otter walking past our stern hatches, and then jumping off the other side. The only evidence, some scat left on the deck.
Otter poo removal tool.
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