Article written by uShaka Marine World
In early October a young male elephant seal made a grand appearance on the beach at Rocky Bay on the lower south coast of KZN.
As he appeared in good health, it was initially decided to relocate him to a quieter beach within a Marine Protected Area where he would hopefully rest for a few days before heading off home. Although he did return to the water after a day or two, he did not head off home but hauled out again on another popular beach.
It was then decided that he would be safer if we brought him into the uShaka Sea World rehabilitation facility where we could do further tests and allow him to recover in peace.
Over the past 5 weeks, Rocky has slowly gained confidence and is now eating just over 6 kilograms of fish each day. His total fish allocation for the day is divided into three equal feeds which he looks forward to. His diet is made up of squid, cuttlefish, pilchards and other small schooling fish which he sucks in with relish.
He currently weighs 107kgs and we hope that by the time he is ready for release, he will have gained another 8kgs.
We cannot release him anytime soon as he is currently undergoing his annual moult.
All seals undergo an annual moult which is when they shed their coat of fur before emerging with a beautiful new coat. Whilst undergoing a moult, seals generally remain on land and do not spend long periods in the water hunting for food. Seals usually put on weight before beginning a moult.
We hope that Rocky’s moult will be complete within the next month or so which means Rocky will, in all likelihood, be with us for Christmas.
Picture: @linda.ness.pix