Rescued Jersey seal pups released in the wild

Two seals rescued in Jersey have been released back into the wild by a UK animal hospital.

Sal and Bean were initially rescued by the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) Jersey in November 2025, before being transferred to the South Essex Wildlife Hospital.

The pups were found underweight and dehydrated in Jersey, but, after two months of care and recovery at a specialist facility, they were restored to a health weight, rescuers said.

Teams at the UK hospital released the seals in a "secret location" on 8 January.

The pups were found on opposite sides of the island, with female Sal first spotted on the slip at St Catherine's Breakwater.

Bean, a male, was found at L'Etacq next to the road at high tide.

Both seals, weighing between 15-16kg (33-35lb) when found, were underweight and dehydrated, according to their rescuers, who said they would not have survived in the wild at that size.

Following the rescue, the pups were then flown by private plane to the South Essex Wildlife Hospital for treatment, as there was not a place in Jersey for the seals to receive specialist long-term care.

Teams there looked after the seals for two months, where they recovered and were taught how to hunt and eat by themselves, rescuers said.

Sue Schwar, founder of South Essex Wildlife Hospital, said: "That's the whole point of rehabilitating any wild animal is to get it back in the wild as soon as possible.

"As soon as they're up to weight and there's no issues, no concerns over their health and feeding… we put them in big plastic kennels, put them in the back of our ambulance, drive them off to a secret location and then open the door and let them go."

Their release saw them "flopping" into the water before "scampering off", she said.

Schwar added: "I'm so delighted that they've gone off for a good old swim - in a nice way I hope we don't see them again."

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