Not everyone appreciates the sad stories, but we think it is important to paint the full picture of what's involved in animal welfare and it isn't all good. We received a call on Sunday about this grey seal pup lying on the beach at Otters Ayre in Muckle Roe. There were questions about whether its mum was nearby or not and in the end we went to have look ourselves. Eventually we came to the very far end of the beach in the moonlight and found a seemingly healthy pup that looked exhausted more than anything else. We managed to get it into a seal bag and carry it several hundred yards back up to the van. When we managed to get it out of the bag we realised it had blood around its mouth and when we got it back to the sanctuary we could see this seal was far from right. We left it alone to rest overnight and on Monday we tubed rehydration fluid down its throat. To feed a seal you have to put a thumb (plus guard) into its mouth to hold it open...and as soon as we did that we realised this poor seal had a badly broken jaw at the tip. Last year we had a seal pup with a broken jaw - Robin - who had to be euthanised, and unfortunately there was no other option for this fellow. Yet while Robin was a feisty pup who really wanted to live, this young pup, despite being a good size, was clearly extremely unwell. He had no doubt been bashed about on the rocks around the north west coast of Muckle Roe in the big seas that have hit these isles this past weekend, so there may well have been more damage than just to the jaw. It's a tough time of year to be born up here in Shetland. Rest in peace, peerie selkie. #selkie #sealpup #greyseal #shetland #wildlife

We're happy to say that Westie the otter cub has made it through his first week at the sanctuary. He has started to settle down and is far less anxious than he was when he first came in. The squeaking in this video has largely come to a stop, and the next stage now is weaning him off the bottle, which he still battles with, and then weaning him off human contact as he moves on to fish soup...yum, yum! So far, so good...but still a long way to go. #draatsie #otter #shetland #nature #wildlife

What a pleasant surprise this morning. Not only were there four seals in the bay at Hillswick, the most we have seen in many a year, but one of them was undoubtedly Flukler who not only came close in but even hauled out where we could distinctly see the pelt markings that identified him as the seal we released just short of three weeks ago. So anyone who may have been concerned about his welfare in the wild can rest assured he is well and enjoying life...and even seems to have made a few friends! #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland #wildlife

His time finally came...the incredible acrobatic common seal pup Flukler - named after the mythical giant wizard from Fetlar - returned to the sea almost exactly three months after he was rescued on St Ninian's Isle beach in late June. It was a bit of a shock and at first he was reluctant to head off. Then he found his courage and headed out only to have second thoughts and race back to the shore. We finally left him exploring the seaweed in his new home, with every confidence that he will have a long and healthy life. Flukler has been as lively a common seal as we have ever had in the sanctuary, which is encouraging after so many have come in over recent years below par. That said, he is the only common seal pup rescued in Shetland this summer, which is perhaps a reflection of the reduction in numbers in these islands over the past five years - a decline of 45% according the the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University. Hopefully Flukler will do his bit to expand the population in years to come. Go Flukler go! #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #shetland #wildlife

We were honoured today (Sunday) with a visit from the lovely Liberal Democrat Highlands and Islands list MSP Morven May MacCallum who joined us on a beach in Eshaness to see our three month old common seal pup Flukler released back to the wild - story and video to follow. Here she is with our dear Smudge who now has the pool to himself again…no more fighting Flukler for fish! #selkie #libdem #msp #smudge

Fun, fun, fun while the pool fills up! Spot the Smudge back flip... #selkie

Hypnotising to watch Flukler and Smudge being introduced to each other. As you can see by the weather, this was not filmed in the last few days. It was bright sunshine on 26 August when we felt Flukler was ready for the big pool. Ten days ago he was just over 24 kilos, now he's almost reached 28! He's also getting plenty of exercise, strengthening those muscles and learning to stand up for himself with muckle Smudge...and swim rings around him! He'll be away by the end of the month leaving Smudge the pool to himself again. Apologies for the lack of posts recently...we've been busy getting the charity shop ready to open on 25th September. It would have been Jan's 79th birthday. May her soul swim in peace xx #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #flukler #smudge

The amazing Flukler rescued almost two months ago from St Ninian's Isle beach continues to come along in leaps and bounds as he grows and grows...and grows. Over the last month he has moved from being tube fed to swallowing whole fish. All in all he has been an absolutely exemplary selkie pup...and extremely handsome to boot. Visitors to the sanctuary fall in love with him every day and who can blame them. So now he is eating whole fish, the next stage is to pop him into the big pool with Smudge so he can build up his muscles. It will be fun to see how they get along. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland #wildlife

Yoga (and dribbles) with Flukler #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland #wildlife

Flukler the handsome, peerie common seal pup rescued as a new born one month ago from St Ninian's Isle beach has now reached a critical stage in his care and rehabilitation as he moves from a liquid to a solid diet. Almost 40 years ago when Jan rescued her first common seal Rosie from the East Ayre in Hillswick, she was able to feed the pup fish pieces straight away even though Rosie was premature. However such has been the decline in the size, strength and resilience of the seals that have come into the sanctuary over the ensuing years, we now have tube feed our pups, especially the commons, a fish porridge mix for the first month of their lives, sometimes longer. Their digestive systems struggle with solids, chunks of fish popped down their throat as in this video. They are so eager to eat fish that it's tempting to rush this process to satisfy the demand, but we know from experience that this is a mistake with potentially drastic consequences. So for now we are mixing liquids and solids so he gets plenty of porridge to maintain and build up his weight, as well as a few chunks every feed until we can wean him off the porridge for good, which will be a relief to both Flukler and ourselves. #selkie #sealpup #commonseal #harbourseal #shetland #wildlife