When the cows seem confused, it’s always worth taking a look at what is puzzling them. So when Ian Ellis, a birdwatcher, found himself watching the confused cows instead of birds, he decided to wander over and take a look at what all the fuss was about. What he found was most definitely not a bird – it was a baby seal lying in the muddy pasture.
Ian Ellis was walking through the Frampton Marsh Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, when instead of the birds he was seeking, he stumbled across a large group of cows. The cows were gathered around something on the ground. Ellis looked through his telescope and what he saw made little sense. A baby seal was stuck in the muddy field.
Celebration relaxes after being rescued. Photo by Natureland
Ellis said he “saw the seal was in distress,” and called for help. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is in charge of the nature reserve. They called in a local seal rescue organization, Skegness Natureland Seal Sanctuary.
“We were able to give advice about how to take the seal out of the situation, and Ellis was able to recover it with the help of wardens,” said the sanctuary’s director Duncan Yeadon. “They took her back here to the seal hospital.”
Vets determined at the time that the seal, named Celebration, was about 5 days old and underweight. She was also very dehydrated and had a chest infection, Yeadon said. Celebration ended up needing a few months to recover, before they could begin the process of releasing her.
Back when she was first found the director said that the birdwatcher, and cows, saved her. “We know she wouldn’t have survived out there if she was just left there on the beach,” he said. Celebration was given antibiotics and treated, and they planned for her future.
Yeager said after they rescued the seal that “it’ll usually take us about three months to put sufficient weight on her and teach her how to eat fish before we release her back into the wild again.” Early on, it was clear that the seal was a friendly sort. “She’s quite nice, very trusting and accepting of all the treatment we’re giving to her,” he had said.
She’s not trying to bite our hands. She’s very docile.”
As the staff worked to teach Celebration how to feed herself, she became friendly with another rescue seal, Charlie. The two became quick friends and it was soon apparent that they could also be released together.
Celebration pauses in the water before taking off. Photo by Natureland
And then it was time. Natureland said that the seals had gained enough weight that it would be safe for them to go back into the ocean. Ellis made sure to be there as well. The rescue staff put Charlie and Celebration in a cage, and weren’t sure how they’d react when they saw the water.
But when they raised the cage doors, the two seals slid out and made their way back home. As the waves came in, Charlie took off immediately, ready to be back in the water. Celebration, however, stopped just a few feet in and watched the water for a few brief seconds, and then dove in after her friend.
A happy ending for a lost baby seal that was saved by some curious cows and a birdwatcher with his telescope. Watch below to see the seals during their time with Natureland.
