Exploris Portaferry: Northern Ireland’s only seal rescue centre where pups receive life

How Exploris in Co Down, NI’s only seal rescue centre, is saving and rehabilitating pups for return to the wild

Blair Bailey at Exploris Aquarium. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

Fern on the beach at time of rescue

Some of the residents at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

Two's company at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

A seal at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

Rescued seal Sequoia was described as "feisty"

In an infant ward in County Down, the bays are quickly filling up with young patients — some of them only a few days old.

But this is no ordinary hospital. The inpatients are seal pups receiving life-saving care from Northern Ireland’s only seal rescue centre.

Exploris, in Portaferry, has been rehabilitating wild seal pups from our shores since it opened in 1989, and has rescued approximately 600 seals to date.

This breeding season its staff expect to see about 30 pups go through the process of being treated, weaned from a specially-mixed milk onto fish, and eventually released back into the wild.

Harbour seals begin pupping in June and finish in August, then grey seals — the other breed common on the Irish and UK coastline — give birth in September and October.

These babies are often just days or weeks old when they come to the attention of Exploris — usually after a phone call from a concerned member of the public.

This season’s first pup — named Briar by the team — arrived at the centre in late June, after a rescue aided by the RSPB. Other early arrivals included Fern, Sequoia, and Dandelion and Burdock, believed to be twins.

Blair Bailie is conservation and education officer at Exploris, and is one of the staff members who goes out on seal rescues.

“Seal pups are wild animals, they have sharp teeth,” he laughs.

“When I rescued Sequoia down in Rostrevor he was really feisty.

“Fern was an interesting case. We got a call saying there was a lone seal pup on Murlough Bay, but when I arrived I couldn’t see her.

“I hunted everywhere before I eventually found her.

“I had to walk all the way back along the beach with this seal pup wriggling around in a special carrier on my shoulder, making a honking noise.

“I did get a few funny looks.

“Dandelion and Burdock were found together, so we think they might be twins. That’s rare for seals so perhaps their mother couldn’t look after them both.

“Dandelion was the smaller one and she was cuddling up to Burdock, while he was protecting her like a big brother.”

Fern on the beach at time of rescue

Seals have inhabited our coastline for millennia, playing a role in balancing the ecosystem and recycling nutrients.

It is believed seals probably evolved from otter-like ancestors Puijila darwini approximately 15-20 million years ago.

Exploris rescues pups under a year old. Some have been injured or caught up in something, while others have been abandoned by their mothers while too young to survive on their own.

Blair says it’s very important for people not to approach seals and their pups, because it can frighten the mother into abandoning her young.

“Keep at least 100m away,” he explains. “As a general rule of thumb, if a seal is looking at you, then it thinks you’re too close for comfort.

“If you’re worried, ring us.

“Don’t take matters into your own hands and don’t try to chase it back into the water. Grey seals are born with a thick white coat that isn’t meant to get wet, so they stay on land for the first few weeks.

“We often ask people to send us a photograph if they find a pup and there’s no sign of its mother. Then we’ll go out and assess the situation ourselves.

“Obviously if the pup has any injuries, or it’s very underweight, we’ll bring it straight in. If not we might monitor it for a day or two, perhaps with help from one of our volunteers, and see if its mother reappears.”

At Exploris, new patients are checked over by a vet.

Their size, weight and teeth all give an indication of their age, and newborns often still have an umbilical cord attached.

They start their rehabilitation journey in the centre’s nursery unit, where they are fed and given any medical treatment they require.

Some of the residents at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

Blair explains that seals are lactose-intolerant, so they are given a brand of lactose-free whole milk powder diluted with water and mixed with cod liver oil, because the milk from the mother seal has a high fat content.

“It’s designed to put on weight fast,” he says. “We weigh our pups daily and expect them to put on half-a-kilo a day.”

A seal at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

The pups are then weaned onto herring and moved out into a nursery pool to begin socialising and practising the skills they will need in the wild, such as learning to swim in a larger volume of water.

When they reach around 20kg they are moved to a bigger pool, where the seal will learn to swim and feed in deeper water.

The seals need to hit around 35kg before they are released, which often means they are at Exploris for four to six months.

Rescued seal Sequoia was described as "feisty"

“Release day is one of my favourite parts of the job,” says Blair. “I really enjoy getting them back out into the wild. It’s where they belong.

“We use a beach that’s close by and pretty quiet. When we open the crate door, some of them are straight out and don’t look back, while others need a bit of coaxing.

“We invite our supporters to the releases. Last summer Ballywalter Primary School’s P3s adopted a pup called Sumac, so we did the release up in Ballywalter so the children could be part of it.”

Two's company at Exploris. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Sunday Life.

Exploris is located on the shores of the Marine Nature reserve of Strangford Lough, which is an important winter migration destination for multiple wading and sea birds.

People can support the seal rescue work of Exploris by adopting one of the season’s seal pups, or by visiting the centre.

In addition to the seal sanctuary there is an aquarium, reptiles, otters, a penguin island and more. This month, Exploris is set to reopen its Ocean Display after a major refurbishment, allowing visitors to walk through a tunnel surrounded by sharks, rays, eels and tropical fish.

From September there will also be a weekly Night at the Aquarium, with guided tours after-hours and a three-course meal at the Kracken Bar & Grill.

For Dandelion and Burdock, Briar, Fern, feisty Sequoia and the scores of other pups rehabilitated at the rescue centre this breeding season, public support is vital.

“We rely on the public to tell us when they see a pup in need of our help,” adds Blair. “Seals are protected by the Wildlife Protection Act and it’s illegal to disturb them. If in doubt, contact us for advice.”

For more information, visit www.explorisni.com

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