Seal pup gets Highland treatment at renovated hospital

A RESCUED seal pup has been the first treated at a refurbished Highland sanctuary.

Ollie the seal pup. Picture: Contributed

Oban Sea Life Sanctuary, which was shut in 2014 to undergo a massive programme of renovations, has named the pup Ollie.

The improvements to the existing seal hospital are now complete and the second phase of the renovations will see the expansion and improvement of the seal rescue facilities, with five new state-of-the-art, sterile pup pens being built along with a new Pup Pool.

These pens and pool will have viewing windows to allow customers to see the amazing behind the scenes work the sanctuary does rescuing and rehabilitating seals, while also minimising human contact and cross contamination to ensure a successful release back into the wild.

Ollie, a six-week-old male common seal, was found exhausted and suffering from seizures on the beach at North Ledaig, near Oban.

The pup has been receiving treatment, including glucose by injection, to increase his weight.

Rescuer Farrah Minchin said: “We received a phone call from a local caravan site owner to say there was a pup on the beach and it was all floppy.

“The pup was obviously skinny and was having seizures. We brought him back to site and a vet administered glucose by injection.

“Before long the pup was bright and alert and ate almost half a kilo in one go.

“He is only six-to-eight weeks old and we think he went for a few days without food, exhausted himself and hauled out on the beach. It was touch and go for the first 24 hours.”

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