Durban — Three weeks after admission young subantarctic fur seal Bella has passed her veterinary health checks.
Bella was first seen on September 2 in the breakwaters at Southbroom before hauling out a few days later at Uvongo.
On Thursday afternoon, the South African Association for Marine Biological Research’s (Saambr) Ann Kunz said they were happy to share some good news from the uShaka Sea World Rehabilitation Facility.
“Bella, the young subantarctic fur seal admitted into rehab three weeks ago, has passed her veterinary health checks,” Kunz said. “Bella was an easy patient from day one. Being irresistibly cute with hypnotising doleful eyes, she soon had the staff lining up to care for her. She started eating food from the trainer’s hands as well as pieces tossed into the water within days of arrival,” Kunz said.
She said sometimes it took older seals a week or two to accept fish from a human caregiver.
Kunz said that Bella’s favourite food is pilchards, followed by hake and cuttlefish. She loves playing with her food, especially squid, which she tosses around the pool before eating.
“She has gained 20% of her weight on admission, which is a good thing for such a young seal,” Kunz said. “We are making arrangements for Bella to fly to Port Elizabeth where she will join two other sub-adult seals being cared for by staff at Bayworld. As the two Bayworld seals are also ready for release, all three seals will be taken out to sea and released together into the Agulhas current – which will hopefully help them find their way home.”
Kunz thanked everyone who donated a teddy to help Bella settle down.
“Unfortunately, Bella was not as enamoured with the teddies as we thought she would be and seemed to prefer moving objects. Sometimes she lay close to the teddies, but most times she chose to rest by herself on her flat red mat. She was at her best when the animal care staff were trying to clean her enclosure. The hoses and brooms presented ideal opportunities for some great seal fun and delayed cleaning sessions,” Kunz said.
She added that they will tag Bella’s flipper before they release her so that she will be easily identifiable by scientists when she hauls out on one of the islands in the Southern Ocean.
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