Our Marine Wildlife Management team rescued 15 seals from Robinson Dry Dock!
Our Marine Wildlife Management Programme undertook a significant seal rescue from Robinson Dry Dock last week!
On Friday 27 September, our Marine Wildlife Management Programme (MWMP) received a call about several seals being trapped inside the dry dock. Thanks to the speedy communication from Transnet, our team leapt into action to rescue the seals.
Dry docks pose a considerable risk to marine life, such as seals, sunfish, and even dolphins. When a vessel enters the flooded dry dock, the main gates are closed and the water is pumped out into the harbour, leaving the dry dock drained for boat maintenance. Unfortunately, any animals that swam into the dry dock while it was flooded are stuck there. This situation is dangerous for animals like seals - the dry dock's high walls, stairs, and its being shut off from the harbour waters prevent seals from escaping. In this case, the Cape fur seals followed a shoal of mullet into the dry dock, where they were feasting before the dock’s doors closed and the area drained.
When our MWMP team arrived on the scene, all the seals were clustered together at one end of the dry dock. It immediately became clear that there were more than a few of them. In fact, the count went up to 15 seals! Interestingly, it appeared that one of the larger males was guarding the rest of the younger seals as he lay in front of them.
Following an assessment of the situation, Martine Viljoen, MWMP Coordinator, decided to call in for help from Cape of Good Hope SPCA. With so many seals trapped in the dry dock, we needed all hands on deck. Our team (Martine Viljoen, Claire Taylor, Ayanda Cimani, Abdullah Abrahams, Saliegh Adams, Louis Du Buisson, and Ayrton King) was joined by SPCA's wildlife specialists Jon Friedman, Trevor Rodney, and Rudi Philander.
“In challenging scenarios like this, prioritising the safety of both humans and wildlife is essential, with minimising stress to the seals being key," says Martine Viljoen, MWMP Coordinator. This is the case with any seal rescue, but in this situation, the seals were already skittish from being trapped in a strange environment.
Our MWMP and SPCA teams began by encouraging several seals to move into the open space of the dry dock, from where they could be more easily corralled. Using padded “usher poles” and brightly coloured boards, the team shepherded the first batch of seals up one of the steep staircases. Once they’d reached the top, it was a simple matter of herding the group towards the harbour wall, where they dove straight into the water.
The team successfully followed this protocol for a few more batches of seals.
However, the team realised that the seals were becoming more stressed as their companions were rescued one by one. So, the MWMP and SPCA decided to start securing the seals in a specially designed net to transport them up the stairs and out of the dry dock. This provided more assurance of the safety of the seals and our team members, sparing the seals from the exertion of walking up the stairs.
After several hours of hard work, the final few seals were transported up the stairs and to freedom!
“I am immensely proud of the dedication and skill shown by the team involved, which allowed us to achieve the best possible outcome for the day without mishap,” says Martine Viljoen, MWMP Coordinator. Successfully rescuing 15 seals from Robinson Dry Dock takes teamwork. We are so grateful to the Cape of Good Hope SPCA team for leaping to action alongside our Marine Wildlife Management staff. This seal rescue was a true team effort, and we couldn’t have done it without you!
“Inviting the SPCA Wildlife team to work alongside us was invaluable to the success of the day, emphasising how collaboration makes the biggest difference towards our wildlife,” says Martine. This rescue highlights the valuable role of units like the MWMP and Cape of Good Hope SPCA in conserving the welfare of wildlife within an urban environment, as well as the importance of collaboration for good.
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