The arctic seal who is afraid of the cold

by Marcus LEROUX

An Arctic seal who doesn't like the cold is receiving therapy for his condition at a sanctuary in Cornwall.

Sahara, a two-year-old native of the waters that lap the frozen shores of Iceland and Greenland, has been rescued on two occasions after he decided he was better suited to warmer climes.

In December he was airlifted from the Canary Islands to Cornwall. An ice machine has been installed in his enclosure at the National Seal Sanctuary at Gweek in Cornwall to help to reacquaint him with Arctic conditions.

Sahara first washed up on a beach in Morocco, more than 2,500 miles (4,000km) off course. Then nine months old, the hooded seal had shed his fur and was barely alive. He was patched up in Cornwall and then released near the Orkney Islands in the hope that, having learnt that warmth was not good for his health, he would return to his natural habitat.

Instead, he headed south again, and was found 1,000 miles away at San Sebastian on the north coast of Spain, on another beach. While hooded seals occasionally head south to Europe, it is usually because they are following a food source, and they tend to return promptly to the north. But Sahara was unable to find food in the unfamiliar waters and ended each of his voyages dangerously malnourished.

The National Seal Sanctuary has now admitted defeat and will not attempt to reintroduce him to the ocean. Instead, it will focus on making conditions in his enclosure as similar to his natural habitat as possible.

This involves a machine that churns out up to half a ton of ice a day. Staff at the sanctuary said Sahara fled to the other side of his enclosure the first time they shovelled ice into it.

Tamara Cooper, Sahara's carer, said: "The problem is Sahara is an Arctic seal who is afraid of the cold. It's a bit like being a bird which is scared of heights. Nobody likes the cold but if you're a seal you've got to get used to it pretty fast."

She added: "It took a little while, but some memory from his puphood eventually seemed to surface and he came for a closer inspection. Once he'd had a sniff and then slid over the top of it for the first time he found he actually likes it.

We don't think it will be long now before Sahara is a proper ice-loving Arctic seal again."

Sahara is the only Arctic hooded seal being cared for in Britain. "He's not the bravest of seals," said Rachael Vine, the sanctuary's marketing manager. "He's very wary of people. He's not going to be released again. He's been out there twice and twice he's ended up malnourished with infections."

The sanctuary is hoping instead to attract funds to provide for Sahara as he grows from 140kg (310lb) to a fully grown 400kg. His size means he will require a new enclosure, which will cost at least 250,000. Sahara's current stint is his second at Gweek. After he washed up in Morocco, he was brought to the sanctuary after a spell recuperating in Tenerife.