A new baby girl seal pup has just been admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, and although she’s a cutie, she’s also a fighter.
According to Jane Belovarac, the Wildlife Response Curator, this pup was found hanging out on the property of the Pacific Food-Fish Processing Facility in Kenai. The pup was described as pretty small and weak, and there was no sign of a parent around for hours.
After calling the ASLC’s 24-hour Wildlife Response Hotline and sending pictures, Sea Life Center confirmed that this was a seal pup in lanugo.
“It just so happened while we were getting permission from NOAA because that’s the government organization that overseas seals and sea lions. We found out that some of the NOAA officers, the National Marine Fisheries Service officers, were in the area so they were able to further assess the situation, pick up the seal for us and then bring it to Seward. So it actually happened quite quickly once we confirm that this was an animal that we wanted to to pick up, that it needed the help,” said Belovarac.
The baby girl was admitted to the ASLC on May 9th. Some of the main concerns from the veterinary exam were her low body temperature, malnourishment, and abnormal bloodwork results, thus putting her in critical condition.
The coloring of her coat is also a sign of this little girl being a premature birth. Currently, she still hasn’t shed her white lanugo coat, which Belovarac says isn’t normal.
Being at the Sea Life Center for just a little over a week, Belovarac says that this little pup is a critical condition preemie, but she is very perky, which is a positive.
A fear of her being a preemie is a fear that her critical internal organs may not have fully developed while she was in the womb. The center did rescue another premature up back in late April but unfortunately passed away due to this cause.
According to the ASLC, it’s unfortunately not uncommon that premature harbor seal pups pass away, as only half of them have a high chance of survival while in the Wildlife Response Program.
Premature harbor seal pups have only about a 50% chance of survival when admitted to a wildlife response program, and the team is doing everything possible to give her a fighting chance.
The ASLC works around the clock to ensure this baby does not share the same fate.
Even though this little girl is just one of the many sea pups that might be found this summer, Jane shares the importance of handling being in a potential abandonment situation.
“If they do see a small pup on the beach, to give us a call, and what we usually ask for is like, are there adults around? Is the place quiet? We ask for some pictures but don’t touch the seal without calling us first. And that number is 1-(888)-774-7325, and that 7325 actually spells out SEAL,” said Belovarac.
The ASLC will share updates on this delicate patient’s progress on their Facebook and Instagram pages.
