Llandudno: Rescued seal pup spotted in Wales four years on

A pool in Cheshire where rescued grey seals are nursed back to health

A grey seal that was rescued during Storm Eleanor and rehabilitated has been spotted four years later.

Tolgus was among five baby seals found severely exhausted and separated from their mothers on a beach in Cornwall in 2018.

He has now been seen near Llandudno and appears to be thriving.

"Receiving news that our seal pups like Tolgus are doing well in the wild so many years later is fantastic," wildlife expert Lee Stewart said.

Mr Stewart is manager at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire, where Tolgus was taken after his rescue in January 2018 by British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

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Tolgus was subsequently released at Colwyn Bay five months later.

"Releasing them back into the wild is a great feeling," Mr Stewart said.

Tolgus was positively identified by a tag on his flipper

"So much time and effort goes into rehabilitating seal pups; it takes many months and is very expensive."

After his rescue, Tolgus was put on a "rehydrate" solution and then a meal of fish soup every five hours.

The rescued pups are then switched to a diet of whole fish as soon as possible, which can involve force-feeding.

Tolgus then moved, after six to eight weeks, to East Winch Wildlife Hospital in Norfolk to learn how to swim in deeper pools.

Once the seals reach 6st 4lb they are ready to be released back into the wild.

The RSPCA advises people to keep their distance from seals, and especially to keep their dogs away.

"Knowing that we are releasing our animals back into the wild 'fit for purpose' means everything to the team here," Mr Stewart said.

"Every seal pup that leaves an RSPCA centre has a Dalton Tag put on them, so those monitoring in the field can feed back sightings like this."