If you don't know Smudge's history you won't appreciate how MAJOR this post is. Smudge arrived at the sanctuary almost six months ago on 9 November after being rescued from West Voe beach in Sumburgh. He was fully moulted and floundering in the shallows. He has been one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced, needing to be encouraged and assisted at every step of the way. He struggled to swallow even a small piece of fish, refused to climb into a pool of water, but eventually we managed to hand feed him whole fish (as long as they were small and exactly the right shape) in the big pool. Then we hit a block and he simply would not eat independently. He would hold a fish side on, bite it in two, then drop the two pieces and spend the next wee while chomping it to pieces and pushing the pieces around the pool. He couldn't figure out how to turn the fish head-on to gulp it down, as seals do. We ended up consulting other sanctuaries for advice and the big Piederburen sanctuary in Holland suggested the obvious. Use a long handled litter picker to hold the fish underwater in the right way for him to grab it head on...and voilá. It took him two days to figure it out, but we got there. He even managed to swallow a herring tail first! Real progress! We still have concerns about Smudge and his ability to cope on his own in the wild. So we shall watch his progress and keep consulting folk before we make a final decision on release. But what a good boy he is. Well done Smudgie boy! #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #wildliferehab #shetland

A wonderful morning for us and for Elder the otter cub who was rescued last August from Shetland's Westside after she was abandoned by her mum. Today we finally released her having waited this long to ensure there would be plenty of fish available out there for her now the winter has passed. Initially hesitant, Elder took off once she got a sniff of freedom. She rapidly cased the entire area before slipping into a burn and making her way downstream towards the sea. Scrambling over the rocks she eventually noticed the ocean waves curling gently in. But she wasn't ready for that experience just yet and headed as fast as she could back to the safety of the burn where we left her to get used to her new surroundings. She looked very much at home, but we shall be keeping a close eye on her and dropping fish off regularly until she gets the hang of finding her own meals. After all, she hasn't had a mum to show her the ropes of survival, so she'll have to figure that out for herself. All we can do is give her the best chance of making it. Good luck, Elder. Great to see you go! #draatsie #otter #shetland #wildlife #freedom

A rare glimpse of Elder having fun in her pool before she heads back to the wild. Won’t be long now. #draatsie #otter #funfunfun

It's International Day of the Seal today (apparently), which reminded us that an update on our beloved, but challenged, grey seal pup Smudge was long overdue. Under normal circumstances after being rescued as a fully moulted pup four and half months ago, Smudge would be long gone making a life for himself out in the wild. But there is nothing normal about Smudge. Aside from his wonky rear flippers and his humped back, he has trouble swallowing fish. As you can see in this video he rejects any fish that doesn't feel right in his throat and though he shows enthusiasm catching fish in the pool, he has yet to grasp the art of getting them past his mouth and into his belly. This is why Smudge remains in our care, with little sign of him leaving it. We hope to find an explanation for his difficulties, which we are currently discussing and will share when we have more information. In the meantime he seems content in his pool and he does love his food, despite appearances! #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #learningdifficulties

A day of surprises and sadness today. This morning a call came in from john_moncrieff about a seal needing help down in Boddam. It sounded like a victim of the recent storms we’ve been having, so we drove the 60 miles to the south end to check and there it was cradled in the kelp on the beach, barely visible to the passer by. It looked different - a bit like a common seal, but different. We picked it up and took it straight to shetlandvets to get medication as it was clearly unwell, with dried blood around its mouth. They agreed - it was a ringed seal from the Arctic, an extremely rare visitor to these parts. So armed with lungworm treatment and antibiotics we drove back to the sanctuary, by which time the seal was going downhill fast and within less than an hour it had passed away just as we were preparing the medication. Such a sad and sudden end to the story after such an unusual discovery. It turns out that a ringed seal generated excitement about two weeks ago when it was seen in the Firth of Forth. It’s hard to be 100% certain, but it certainly looks like this is the same seal. And how many ringed seals turn up on Scotland’s east coast? So the next stage will be a necropsy to find out what the cause of death was, while we get over the shock of the experience. It’s never easy losing a seal, even if you’ve only been with it for a few hours. #selkie #ringedseal #shetland

Today is the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc, which some consider to be the first day of Spring. In Shetland the worst of the winter weather may still be ahead of us this month, but Elder the otter cub rescued from Burrastow in August has come through the cold season so far in extremely good shape. She is strong, robust with a healthy appetite, and will certainly be ready to make it out in the wild once we reach the end of March when the fish are starting to run and she will have less of a struggle fending for herself - though of course we will be in the background dropping fish off for her once she goes to give her a soft landing as an independent, self sufficient otter. #draatsie #imbolc #shetland

Seal pup Storm, the perfect example of a handsome selkie, finally went back to the wild this afternoon two months after being rescued during Storm Bert when she was found on a beach in Fetlar. A worn out white coat when she arrived, she never stopped thriving going from strength to strength until today when it was her time to go and make a life for herself in the big blue! Swim free selkie Storm! #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #shetland

Here’s Storm…rescued in November from Fetlar and ready to be released back to the wild tomorrow!!! #selkie #shetland #gowild

Elder the otter rescued as a cub out past Walls on the west side is looking fabulous five months after she arrived at the sanctuary just a few weeks old. Here she is in the recent snow swimming in her pool and being hostile - just how we like them! #draatsie #shetland

Our dear old Smudge, who looks like an old fellow even though he's still a pup, has proved to be a tremendous challenge since he was rescued almost two months ago from the West Voe beach at the Shetland mainland's southern tip. He is the latest of a lengthening line of grey seal pups we have received at the sanctuary over the past few years who have displayed what we can only describe as "learning difficulties". Even though he was fully moulted when he was brought here, and should have been on the verge of catching his own meals, he has shown almost no aptitude when it comes to eating independently. We have been hand feeding him from the start to maintain his weight, and though he shows great interest when he comes across a juicy herring in his pool, he doesn't seem to know what to do with it other than chomp it into pieces. He definitely has displayed problems with swallowing, which might be a major part of the problem, and we are happy to say that after weeks and weeks of patient effort, he is now managing to swallow fish whole. Smudge is just taking a long time to get there, but we are confident that we will be able to release him back to the natural world where he belongs in the not too distant future. His condition does make us wonder about what is going on with our selkies these days though. #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #shetland