Last week, Dr Pat Garratt, Director of the Aquarium, alerted me to the fact that the SAPPI Seal Platform outside the Aquarium was groaning under the weight of juvenile seals.
I headed downstairs to take photos of this phenomenon, which we have not experienced before. And I was not disappointed.
What a wonderful sight – cuddles everywhere!
It is then that I spotted this seal.
It looked like it either had a noose around its neck, or as if a noose had recently been removed. I phoned Vincent Calder (the seal professional) and asked him to come and have a look.
It is then that Vince turned to me and smiled with great excitement: “It is Black Raffia Boy!”
I had no idea what he was talking about. Well, it turns out that Vince has been trying to remove the noose from this seal’s neck for the past year! “I cannot let this opportunity go by. We need to close the gate!” Vince eagerly informed me.
Vince then called in reinforcements in the form of Aquarium staff members Kevin Spiby and Maresia Haasbroek. We closed the gate and Kevin and Vince managed to net Black Raffia Boy.
What a great day!
Thanks to Amir Sadat Razaei from Ocean Adventurer for taking some great pictures.
Read more about our conservation work with seals here.
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