Words by Hannah Tapping
Puffin Island, at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary, is providing the only habitat in the UK to house rescued Atlantic puffins, who are facing numerous threats to their population numbers.
Until now, puffins have only been visable in the wild in limited conservation areas. Today, ten non-releasable rescued puffins rehabilitated by sister Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland, have been carefully transported to their new home at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek.
The island of Vestmannaeyjar, where the Beluga Whale Sanctuary is located, is home to the largest Atlantic puffin breeding colony in the world. The sanctuary rescues, rehabilitates and releases around 60 injured and oiled puffins every year. However, there are a few that cannot be released back into the wild due to the severity of their injuries and their inability to fend for or feed themselves. It is these puffins that have been relocated to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary to be cared for and to create space to allow their sister sanctuary to continue its vital rehabilitation work in Iceland.
Atlantic puffins face numerous threats to their population numbers, from fish stock depletion (predominantly sandeels), predation from invasive rats on their eggs and chicks, oil spills, climate change and the recent concern of avian influenza. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary plans to educate visitors on the’ plight of the puffin’ and encourage conservation efforts by providing information through educational talks and workshops. “We can help motivate people to make small adjustments in their daily habits – resulting in a beneficial outcome for our climate. By working with other like-minded organisations and government bodies, we can assist with implementing guidelines and policies to help enforce crucial change to help protect our vulnerable marine ecosystem,” explains Helene Weston, the sanctuary’s marketing manager.
“All of our puffins have unique personalities, each one having their own little habits and routine. For example, our paired puffin couple Thor and Freyja can be seen sitting and billing together most days. Billing is a courtship behaviour where puffins rub their beaks together, and these two puffins love to bill. Karen, our oldest resident, is an avid diver, she loves to be in the pool, swimming laps around the others, and can be seen dropping her fish in the pool so she can dive down and get it. Puffins can dive up to 60 metres for their fish, making Karen quite the professional! Tyr is our most adventurous puffin, he loves to be up high in the exhibit, moving up the rock faces and then launching himself into the air. Tyr is an excellent flyer, flapping his wings up to 400 times a minute! His landing however could use some work.”
The sanctuary has had to adapt to care for their new residents. “We strive to meet the needs of our residents in every capacity. Some of the challenges our puffins face includes waterproofing issues, problems with joints and sight loss. When preparing for the arrival of the puffins it was important for us to make sure we could create an environment where each individual animal could live without limits. We created an enclosure with open air access so they can dry their feathers with the help of the Cornish sunshine, as well as installing heat lamps in their nest box area for use during the winter. Our pool was built with accessible ramps to aid access to the pool, for those residents with poor vision and mobility issues. We also give them a daily supplement to promote the growth of smooth, glossy feathers and strong bones,” adds Helene.
Atlantic puffins are also native to Cornwall where they are sadly classified as endangered and included on the red list as a species of concern in the UK. The Cornish Seal Sanctuary hopes that the presence of these characterful birds will help them with their education programme, giving visitors a rare opportunity to engage with these captivating seabirds up close, as Head of Sanctuaries for the SEA LIFE TRUST Jana Sirova explains: “The arrival of these rescued puffins from our sister SEA LIFE TRUST Beluga Whale Sanctuary in Iceland marks an incredibly exciting milestone for us. These charming seabirds have captured our hearts, and we’re honoured to provide them with a safe and loving home here in Gweek. By showcasing the ‘plight of the puffin’, we hope to raise awareness about the challenges facing these endangered birds and inspire action to protect them. Our aim is for these puffins to become ambassadors for their species, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation among our guests. We can’t wait for everyone to come and meet our newest residents, learn about their journey, and join us in our mission to safeguard the future of these captivating seabirds.” It’s not just the puffins that are in the spotlight at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary. Visitors can expect to see seal pups constantly moving through the rehab process from hospital to nurseries and on to the final stages of rehab and then release. “We keep pups moving through the process to not only keep them as wild as possible, but also to give them the best chance of survival while making space for other pups that need help,” explains Helene. “You will see pups learning to feed for the first time on their own, getting regular weighing sessions to ensure they are gaining weight, learning to dive for fish, and learning vital social skills whilst they make friends with other seal pups at the same stage of rehab. The skills pups will learn whilst with us are all aimed at helping them when they are released back home.”
Pup season varies in different areas – the Cornish Seal Sanctuary takes pups in between August and March – but whenever it occurs, disturbance is always a concern. They will often be left by their mums safely high above the high tide mark, which allows the mum to go back into the sea to feed herself as in turn the pups need feeding regularly to ensure their best chance of surviving the critical weaning period. Even just a few missed feeds can be the difference between life and death for a seal pup. While it may look like these young seals have been abandoned, the mum will often be keeping a watchful eye from the water. If you encounter a seal pup alone on a public beach, the advice is do not approach or touch it, and to keep at least 100m away. Owners are advised to remain vigilant while walking their dogs on beaches, especially where there are secluded shores and caves, as mother seals and their pups may be present.
“We never know when our first pup of the season will arrive,” adds Helene. “This season we started early and our final hospital repairs were not yet completed – pup season teaches us to be prepared for anything as they can arrive with many different ailments and health concerns.
“The team have to be great at spotting tiny subtle changes in behaviour or symptoms to ensure our vets have all the information to give the pups the best chance of survival. Although we can’t save all the pups, the biggest reward is to see a pup turn a corner because of the efforts the team have made, and of course the eventual release is the best feeling of all and why we all do this work. Over the past couple of years, we have focused on one of the biggest threats facing seals in Cornwall, and this is disturbance, which has more than tripled in the last ten years.”
LEFT: Jennifer Aniston CENTRE: Muffy RIGHT: Emelia Clarke
Through their campaigns and workshops, The Cornish Seal Sanctuary encourages people to follow best practise. In most cases, disturbance occurs when humans are too visible, too close and too loud. Spending time near or in the sea, sharing the environment with wildlife, comes with a responsibility to be respectful and show good practice.
If you are concerned about a pup the Cornish Seal Sanctuary and BDMLR can be contacted for advice and assistance on 01326 221361 or 01825 765546 respectively.