A seal rescue centre in Dublin has expressed concern that it has seen a grey seal whitecoat pup in need of care this weekend, unusually early in the season.
The Irish Seal Sanctuary (ISS) received the seal pup from Wexford yesterday and said it is at most a week old.
A spokeswoman for the ISS said it generally does not see the first such case until October, or perhaps September in recent years.
“The pup ‘Ollie’ is very young, his umbilical cord fell off this morning, so he is maximum a week old. He is very thin and has a suspicious cough but it will take a few days to see if there are more problems.”
Grey seal pups are born on sheltered beaches and inlets, according to the ISS. The mother leaves them on the beach and comes in just to feed. The whitecoat pup does not enter the water until it loses its long white hair and is weaned.
“These pups with their polar bear coat, are very appealing but we would ask the public not to be tempted to touch them. The scent of humans can confuse the mother and she may then reject the pup.”
The sanctuary is also currently busy dealing with harbour (or common) seal pups.
“The international volunteers are delighted to get the opportunity to see this animal but we are concerned by the out-of -season occurrence,” the spokeswoman said.