Photo of the week
Rehab works, it’s official.
Wednesday 02 November 2011
Injured seals nursed back to life by the RSPCA have as good a chance of surviving when sent back into the wild as their healthy peers, according to new research.
The study, by scientists at the University of St Andrews, proves for the first time that rehab programmes for seals work.
The research was carried out in collaboration by staff at the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre and scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews.
It involved recovering seals being sent back into the wild with tracking equipment – similar to a stethoscope – that enabled researchers to measure their breath capacity whilst diving, much the same as NHS patients being sent home with heart monitors.
The six seals tracked included Skippy, a juvenile harbour seal washed up at a Norfolk beach, underweight and with multiple infected wounds on her neck and hind flippers. After 155 days of treatment, she was released and monitored using the satellite tracking devices developed by Dr Bernie McConnell at the University of St Andrews.
The satellite transmitter, glued to the fur on the back of the necks of six rehabilitated harbour seals, could not only keep track of whether they were alive but also for the first time allowed experts to remotely monitor the seals’ health.