Cheshire Wildlife Centre prepares to take in more baby seals

A Wildlife Centre is preparing to take in more wild seal pups, as their breeding season approaches.

RSPCA Stapeley Grange in Nantwich, Cheshire, is one of the few centres in the UK equipped to look after baby seals, and has already taken on seven new pups since June.

With the grey seal mating season beginning in the next few weeks, the centre will soon have even more baby seals to look after.

The manager at Stapeley Grange, Lee Stewart, said: “We are trying our best to move our pups onto self feeds as quickly as possible so that we can free up space in our isolation area, but many need to stay in.”

Each year the centre chooses a theme for naming their seals. This year all seven are named after mythical creatures.

For Gnome, Griffin, Banshee, Kraken, Kelpie, Troll, and Zombie, Stapeley Grange will be their home until they are moved to RSPCA East Winch, where they will get to swim in deep pools and build up their strength.

Lee Stewart said: “They are all doing well, although a couple are stubborn feeders, which is nothing the team here isn’t used to dealing with.”

Seal’s often abandon their pups when disturbed or scared, and centres like Stapeley Grange look after them until they’re strong enough to be released into the wild.

In recent years, the seal population has been growing. This means rescue centres are more stretched than ever as more pups need help.

A baby seal on its own is not always a cause for concern, as mothers can leave their pups alone for hours at a time. Sometimes these baby seals are taken to centres by mistake, and so if it looks healthy its recommended to wait 24 hours before calling for help.

They can also have a nasty bite, so it’s best to stay at least 100 metres away at all times.