A Seal: the name of our adopted seal is…

At the end of 2020, we decided to sponsor the A Seal foundation. In return, we have been able to ‘adopt’ a seal and, as adoptive parents, we get to name it. Our male seal usually lives in the North Sea. Spectades staff sent in their name suggestions and the winning name is… Visar!

Visar is a male, and when he arrived, he weighed 17.4 kg. He was found on the Maasvlakte in the Netherlands and taken to A Seal on 5 December with a wound to his head. Fortunately, Visar is now doing well. He is living with two other seals in a covered terrace. He is growing well, and eating fish independently is no problem – he and his two companions eat 11 kg of herring every day.

A Seal, where Visar is currently living, is a seal rehabilitation centre. The centre is located in Stellendam, South Holland, and it operates in an area from around IJmuiden to Cadzand. This area is home to more than a thousand seals! There are many reasons why seals might come to A Seal. Fishing nets, plastic waste and boats can injure seals or make them sick.

Disturbances around a sandbank are another major problem. If seals are disturbed, they quickly panic and escape into the water. It can be dangerous if there is a commotion while small pups are on the sandbank. The mother seals panic and rush into the water, losing sight of their pups. Pups orphaned like this often end up washed up on a beach somewhere, exhausted and hungry.

Fortunately, they are often found in time and taken to the A Seal rehabilitation centre. Seals brought in recently still have to remain in quarantine. Once they have recovered, they are taken to the centre. They are initially housed in a covered terrace, and then later in outdoor pools.

The mission of the A Seal foundation is to offer top quality and professional medical care to seals in need to ensure their health and safety. Their aim is to release the seals back to their natural environment after their rehabilitation. Alongside this work, they also provide education about seals in their immediate habitat to the widest possible audience.

Would you like to find out more about A Seal or even adopt a seal? Read more on the A Seal website: https://www.aseal.nl/