Rescued Seal Pup Receiving Care

A seal pup that was rescued at the Reykjavík harbour has been transported to the zoo to be taken care of by the Reykjavík Animal Rescue Service, reports RÚV.

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The Animal Rescue Service heard several reports about the dying seal pup and they were able to rescue it on Monday.

“He was in very poor condition. He was exhausted and hungry. He didn’t flinch until I bent over him,” says Reykjavík Animal Rescue Services employee, Veigar Friðgeirsson.

The service believes the six-week old seal pup was weaned, but not yet able to fully support himself.

“The most likely scenario is that his mother simply weaned him and stopped feeding him,” says Veigar. “It’s certainly the case that the proportion of young seals that die as a result is quite high.”

The seal pup is now in the care of the Animal Rescue Services with hopes of returning the pup to the wild when he is strong and healthy.

“It’s all coming together, everything is falling into place. We started pumping him full of water and vitamins. He took a liking to it. So now, in consultation with the vet, he’s got a fish yakitori, which we give him four to five times a day. Then we’ll try to give him a whole fish soon. I’m very optimistic,” says Veigar. “We want wild animals to be able to stay in the wild, so we’ll try to send him back out to sea if possible.”