Staff at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich are being kept on their toes by seven hungry seal pups.
The orphans are recovering from the trauma of separation from their mothers and in some cases injury – arriving at the RSPCA centre underweight and needing TLC.
And they’re getting it by the bucket load!
Wildlife assistants feed them up to fi times a day on ‘fish soup’ and herring but as our pictures show, their patients have an insatiable appetite for seconds and even thirds.
All named after condiments and sauces, Branston, Hoisin, Wasabi, Peppercorn, Sweet Chilli, Marmite and HP Oaks are being fattened up ready for their return to the wild.
A spokesman for the centre said: “In 2024 and early 2025, we have admitted 21 grey seals and four common seals. We typically expect common seal pups to arrive from June and grey seal pups after August.
“The most common admission reasons are orphans, respiratory issues and wounds from being attacked.
“We typically have seals transported to us via the British Divers Marine Life Rescue and can be brought from Wales or as far as Yorkshire.
“When they arrive at our centre as orphans, we must support-feed them until they are eating on their own and healthy.
“We currently have seven grey seals in our care waiting to either reach our release weight of 30kg plus or to be signed off as healthy by our vets.
“All arrived as orphans or inexperienced juveniles. They were either separated from the mother seal too early or struggled to thrive once independent.
“They were found washed ashore along the coast and some had wounds from being attacked by animals or respiratory issues due to internal parasites.
“HP Oaks, our most recent admission, was suffering a large neck wound due to 7ft of netting becoming tightly tangled around his neck for weeks. He’s still undergoing treatment.
“Sweet Chilli had an eye injury and with veterinary intervention we were thankfully able to save the eye.”
The seals are weighed weekly and chipped and tagged before moving outside.
Once they are comfortable swimming in deep water they are transferred to the coast where they were found.
Many people are following their progress on social media – and while seal pups definitely have the ‘aww’ factor there’s a word of caution from the RSPCA not to approach if you find one washed up on a beach.
Cute as they are, staff have to take great care not to be nipped by razor sharp teeth at feed time.
If you think a seal pup is sick or injured, keep a safe distance and contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.
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