There's nothing quite like having a bit of seaweed to play with. Frankie playing peek-a-boo in the pool. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #shetland

Our two wee common seal pups Frankie and Munro continue to thrive under the brilliant care of Lynn Young and her family who have come to Hillswick to help out through the summer months. The seals are now big and strong enough to go outside during the day and enjoy the fresh air, but you can see that Frankie, recognisable by the stylish white spot on his forehead, is dominating the pool. He's also good at blowing bubbles. It's extraordinary how well he is doing after arriving as a three day old premature pup in early May. Munro is more timid, but he's catching up and beginning to stand up for himself. Frankie is now taking whole fish, while Munro is still on fish pieces having moved on from fish porridge. The next step is to see them eating independently. Can't wait! #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

The wonderful Greg McKinney is not only proving to be a natural seal carer during his stay at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary, but he also produces delightful videos like this one of our two common seal pups Frankie and Munro enjoying the outdoors on some of the infrequent fine days we've been having here in Shetland over the past few weeks. As you can see, the pups are full of beans (mackerel beans, that is)! Music by Roman Senvk #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #hillswick #shetland

Our two common seal pups Frankie and Munro are getting to know each other at last. Having managed to get Munro through his early tummy troubles, we introduced him to his new playmate...except his playmate isn't very keen on playing. Every time Munro makes a move towards Frankie - the pup with the distinctive white spot on his forehead - he moves away. Frankie, who has more than doubled in weight since he arrived as a very premature pup weighing just 5 kilos, is now the dominant male. He hogs the pool and keeps Munro in his place. But you can see how much Munro enjoys his time in the water when he does finally get a chance to have a swim. While Frankie enjoys nothing more than sucking on a towel while he's resting out of the water. He's still just a wee pup after all. Once again many thanks to Greg McKinney who is doing a wonderful job looking after these two little pups, tube feeding and moving them on to small pieces of fish. #selkie #sealpup commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

Frankie the premature common seal pup continues to move ahead in leaps and bounds. Now twice the weight he was when he was rescued six weeks ago from Rerwick beach, he has now graduated to the paddling pool. Here he is taking his first dip, sliding into the pool, twisting and turning and even blowing bubbles. Clever boy! He's even started to take solids, a few small pieces of fish pushed down his throat. There seems to be no stopping him. All credit to Greg McKinney who is doing the lion's share of caring for the seals at the moment and doing a brilliant job. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

Today's summer gale washed in our second common seal pup of the season after Stella Oldbury braved the inclement weather to walk her dog on Scousburgh Sands. At the far end of the beach she found this new born pup lying exhausted at the water's edge, its umbilical cord still attached and no sign of its mother anywhere. We contacted Scottish SPCA inspector Vhairi Graham who drove south to rescue the wee fellow, and by chance two young film makers Mattéo and Roman, who are staying with us at the moment, were in the area and met up with Vhairi to bring the pup north to Hillswick. Our good friend Greg who is helping out at the sanctuary has named the pup Munro. He's strong and healthy, and weighs around 10 kilos, twice as much as Frankie when he was rescued a month ago and more what you would expect a new born common seal to weigh. But he is thin and will need feeding up. But for tonight, it's time to rest and recover from his ordeal. If you would like to join the kind and generous community that supports the work we do here at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary and contribute to Munro's care, please visit https://www.hillswickwildlifesanctuary.org/donate/ Thankyou! #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #scousburgh #shetland

Frankie the peerie premature common seal pup rescued from Rerwick a month ago has finally come out of his furry shell. It took three weeks for his lanugo coat to completely come off, revealing a stunning black selkie with a distinguished white patch on the middle of his forehead. Common seals are unique in that, like humans, they moult in the womb - only we’re not born with a fur coat like they are! And Frankie continues to be a delight, full of energy and a heathy appetite. His weight is gradually gaining and he has now passed the 8 kilo mark, heading in the right direction. As every day passes, our confidence in him grows. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

Feisty wee Frankie, the premature common seal pup rescued from Rerwick two weeks ago, is turning out to be the most delightful character. Not only has he survived coming into captivity, but he seems to be thriving on his diet of fish porridge. He now weighs 7.5 kilos, up from 5 kilos when he arrived at the sanctuary. Normally when a seal starts to moult we would expect them to become somewhat subdued, but not our Frankie. He is constantly on the move, seeking out anywhere he might find mum's nipple (not much chance of that round here), charging up and down the seal unit and blowing bubbles in his wee bowl of water. He is an absolute delight to care for. And now his fur coat is starting to appear, you can see a cool white mark has appeared on his forehead. At this rate he is going to turn into a very handsome young bull seal. #selkie sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

Much to our relief, Frankie the premature common seal pup continues to thrive one week after he was rescued from Rerwick beach having lost his mum three days earlier. Unfortunately to keep him alive at this stage we have no choice but to force feed him our fish porridge mix by tubing it down his throat. Seal mums do not have protruding nipples, so their pups can't be fed from a bottle. Obviously it's no pleasure for him or for us, but thank goodness Frankie has managed to put on weight since he has been here. Weighing just 5 kilos on arrival - perhaps the smallest pup we have ever taken in - he is now up to 6.5 kilos on four feeds a day. This was filmed on his second day at the sanctuary. So far, so good. What a journey it is with these peerie selkies. They are so delicate. Thankyou to all the people who have so kindly made a donation to help us care for Frankie. We can't tell you how much we appreciate your support. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland

Three months and one day after he arrived at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary with a head full of wounds, Stroodle the grey seal pup finally made it back to the wild on Sunday. We had been waiting patiently and with some astonishment as his incredible head wound gradually healed to become nothing more than a lightning shaped scar on the top of his head. Our thanks must go to international wildlife vet Romain Pizzi for his advice and reassurance that gave us the confidence to stick with Stroodle until he healed after his entire scalp literally slid off his head. He was always and understandably an angry seal who really did not appreciate being kept in captivity. So it was no great surprise that when it came to tipping him out on the shoreline at Hillswick he took off like a torpedo, so fast that we were barely able to keep up with him on camera. But at least we managed to get some nice underwater ballet moves in the pool before he went. We weighed him when he arrived at 14 kilos...he was 45 by the time he left. So good luck out there Stroodle. We have no doubt you will keep growing in strength and stature. You're a very courageous soul! #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #freedom