{"id":597847,"date":"2025-11-27T20:44:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/597847\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T20:44:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:44:21","slug":"orphaned-seal-rescued-in-north-wales-returns-home-thriving-with-her-own-pup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/597847\/","title":{"rendered":"Orphaned seal rescued in North Wales returns home thriving with her own pup"},"content":{"rendered":"

A grey seal pup saved by rescuers in 2020 has made a remarkable return to North Wales waters \u2014 this time as a new mumKale and her pup, Amethyst (Image: Adge Lane )<\/p>\n

An orphaned seal pup rescued from a North Wales beach more than five years ago is now thriving in local waters – and raising a pup of her own.<\/p>\n

Staff at the RSPCA\u2019s Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, near Nantwich, spent three months caring for Kale, a young grey seal pup brought in by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) in 2020. She had been found underweight and alone, but quickly began to recover under the centre\u2019s specialist care.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter<\/a> sent twice daily to your inbox<\/p>\n

Kale was tube, then hand-fed fish until she could feed independently. Once she gained enough weight, she was moved to the centre\u2019s outdoor pools before being transferred to the Welsh Mountain Zoo in Colwyn Bay<\/a> \u2014 chosen for its deep pools ideal for preparing seal pups for life back in the sea. She was eventually released into the coastal waters off North Wales.<\/p>\n

Kale the seal(Image: Adge Lane )<\/p>\n

Last year, volunteers from a Welsh seal monitoring group reported a sighting of Kale in the same area. And now, her remarkable progress has been captured by wildlife photographer Adge Lane, whose images show Kale with her new pup \u2014 named Amethyst \u2014 in one of the region\u2019s well-known seal hotspots.<\/p>\n

Lee Stewart, manager of the RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, said: \u201cThis is such an uplifting story. To see Kale doing so well back in the wild \u2014 and now caring for her own pup \u2014 is incredibly rewarding. When she came into our care she was in poor condition, but thanks to our dedicated team and the support of Welsh Mountain Zoo, she made a fantastic recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that sightings like this are vital for the charity\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Kale’s pup called Amethyst (Image: Adge Lane )<\/p>\n

\u201cOur seal pups are tagged so we can monitor them after release. Knowing they\u2019re thriving in the wild reinforces that our rehabilitation methods are working. To have such beautiful images of Kale and Amethyst in North Wales is really special \u2014 it reminds us why our rescue work matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amethyst\u2019s name follows Stapeley Grange tradition, where seasonal or topical themes are used for naming the pups.<\/p>\n

Stapeley Grange is one of around a dozen centres in the UK equipped to care for seals, though not all facilities can keep pups through to release. Other long-term centres include the RSPCA\u2019s East Winch (Norfolk), Mallydams Wood (East Sussex) and West Hatch (Somerset). With the UK\u2019s growing seal population, rescue centres are under increasing pressure as more underweight or injured pups need help.<\/p>\n

However, the RSPCA is urging the public to be cautious before intervening. A lone seal pup on a beach is not always abandoned \u2014 mothers often leave their pups for long periods. Members of the public are advised to observe from a distance of at least 100 metres, keep dogs on leads, and monitor the pup for 24 hours before seeking help, unless the animal is clearly injured.<\/p>\n

Anyone worried about a seal can find guidance on the RSPCA website, or contact the RSPCA or BDMLR for expert advice.<\/p>\n

Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories delivered straight to your phone<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A grey seal pup saved by rescuers in 2020 has made a remarkable return to North Wales waters…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":597848,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3847],"tags":[70,16,15,1717,10154],"class_list":{"0":"post-597847","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-uk","10":"tag-united-kingdom","11":"tag-wildlife","12":"tag-wildlife-and-nature"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115623615993478593","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597847","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=597847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/597847\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=597847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=597847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=597847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}