Selkie, the seal rescued on a beach in Quarteira, died this Saturday, January 15, due to having too much human waste in his body, announced Zoomarine. She was still subjected to treatments and an operation to remove the garbage, but ended up not surviving the postoperative period.
According to a statement from Zoomarine's Porto D'Abrigo Rehabilitation Center, the seal Selkie "did not resist the continuous deterioration of its clinical condition and died".
Along a journey «which dragged on for more than a year and a half and passed through several countries», the seal «moved away thousands of kilometers» from its natural habitat. «He was suffering and accumulating several injuries, a bacterial infection, a strong infestation by nematodes and a partial gastrointestinal obstruction, which led to the progressive degradation of his behavior and clinical condition».
Selkie was rescued on the 12th of December, on a beach in Quarteira, by employees of Zoomarine, in conjunction with the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza e Florestas, and spent 30 days in rehabilitation, under the watchful eye of almost 20 specialists.
On the 13th of January, the North Atlantic cold water seal underwent a clinical procedure, led by José Sampayo, an «international specialist in endoscopies, with a view to removing a hook, plastic objects and remains of craftsmanship. that had accumulated in his gastro-intestinal tract'.
“From Selkie's stomach, everything that should never have gone in was removed: human waste. Too much human waste. Garbage that should not reach the mouths of marine animals, but that every day is ingested by unsuspecting specimens, such as this gray seal», says the Rehabilitation Center.
«In the wild, when ingested, these objects tend to impose a slow, painful, ungrateful, unfair and inhumane death. And Selkie was, unfortunately and unfairly, just another victim of human carelessness and insensitivity», underlines the Rehabilitation Center of that water park.
Now, «the lessons remain and the memories remain. And there remains the determination to fight for the “other Selkies” who, daily, all over the world, continue to need our help and who, many of them, die, every day, in the seas».
“There were many times when our team arrived on time – this, very unfortunately, was not one of those times. We fought for five weeks, but human help should have started sooner. However, our determination will remain the same. Availability too. Because there are other “Selkies” in need of us», concludes the Rehabilitation Center.
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