Rescued Blyth seal back to 'demolishing plenty of herring' after flipper injured in dog attack

Kiwi the seal was rescued by Blyth Wildlife Rescue last month after he was found dehydrated and underweight on a beach in Cambois. Credit: Blyth Wildlife Rescue

A North East wildlife rescue charity has said a seal which had been injured in a dog attack is back to "demolishing plenty of herring" after it was rescued in Blyth last month.

Kiwi the seal was found on a beach in Cambois, by Blyth Wildlife Rescue, dehydrated and underweight.

He also had several puncture wounds to his rear flipper which are thought to have been caused by a dog attack.

Kiwi the seal was found dehydrated and underweight and had several puncture wounds to his flipper. Credit: Blyth Wildlife Rescue

Volunteers took him back to the charity centre and found his temperature was low, blood was coming from his gums and after X-raying the animal vets found one of the digits in his flipper was fractured.

Over the last few weeks, vets have treated infection at the fracture site and recent x-rays showed no change in the displacement of bone when compared to earlier x-rays.

Last weekend Kiwi also underwent surgery to have a digit removed from his rear flipper.

Kiwi had a digit removed from his flipper last weekend. Credit: Blyth Wildlife Rescue

Volunteers have said Kiwi has proven to be a very feisty and strong patient and is once again back demolishing plenty of herring.

They added that Kiwi weighed 17.4kg on admission and by working his way through over 4kg of herring every day and now weighs 27.6kg.

Vets have said Kiwi is back to "demolishing" herring and they are preparing him for release. Credit: Blyth Wildlife Rescue

On their Facebook, volunteers from Blyth Wildlife Rescue wrote: "Once again, the dynamic duo at Vets4Pets Morpeth performed the operation and it was another great success. We couldn’t be more thankful for Demi and Seb for all of their continuous support.

"He [Kiwi] is very inquisitive and has already managed to remove his bandages but our team are there to continue wound care and get him fighting fit for release.

"Thank you to everyone who has made a donation so far. If you would still like to make a donation towards his treatment and ongoing care, we would be extremely grateful."

Dr Dimitra Tsomidou, from Vets4Pets Morpeth, who specialises in soft tissue surgery, said: “This is the second time we’ve worked with Blyth Wildlife Rescue to treat local seals they have rescued. Earlier this year, we performed emergency surgery on a pup named Guava who suffered from a ruptured eye. The surgery was a success, and when we heard about Kiwi, we were more than happy to help out.

“Although Kiwi isn’t our typical patient, the principles of the surgery were very similar to that of a domestic animal. Kiwi is already making great progress in his recovery and is adapting to life with one less digit in his flipper wonderfully.

“It’s a fantastic feeling to have been able to help the team once again, and I’m so grateful to my colleagues who donated their time over the weekend to help Kiwi.”

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