Vancouver Aquarium welcomes northern fur seal pup with hopes to return him to the wild some day
Posted January 26, 2017 6:34 pm.
Last Updated January 26, 2017 6:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There is a new seal at the Vancouver Aquarium. The northern fur seal pup that was spotted by the shore near the Ahousaht First Nation.
This is just the second time the marine centre has taken in a northern fur seal, the last one was found in 1960.
“While northern fur seals can be found in BC, it’s a pelagic species, which means they spend most of their time far offshore. We don’t often see them close to land,” says Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of the Rescue Centre.
Akhurst says he was in rough shape.
“He was extremely emaciated, he’s only 6.9 kilograms. This time of year a pup his age should be at least three times that, ” she says. “He’s got a couple of wounds. One, an injury to his eye and then a small wound to one of his flippers as well.”
The good news, Akhurst says it does look like he will be able to recover from those injuries and eventually be released back into the wild.
“He spends most of his time basking underneath his heat lamp and on a heating pad that we have for him because he is, of course, quite thin so he can’t quite thermoregulate outside of the water too much.”
The pup is thought to be about seven months old.
