Paddy and Ronnie back in the sea

Great joy as Paddy and Ronnie go on watery road to recovery


Anton McNulty

ON A bitterly cold day on Keem Bay, nobody was brave enough to take a dip into the chilly waters, except for Ronnie and Paddy – two rescued male common seals who have been waiting months to get back into the fresh Atlantic.
While the fireside might have been a more appropriate place to be last Tuesday afternoon, over 50 hardy souls – both visitors and locals – turned up on the Achill beach to witness the release of the seals back into the wild.
For many years, Keem was the launching platform for local fishermen catching salmon in the bay, and the sight of a seal close to the strand would not have been welcomed. However, with salmon fishing now banned, Paddy and Ronnie will have first choice on the available pickings, and there was nothing but well-wishers on the strand to bid them farewell.
Before they were released into the oncoming tide, Lynn Moore of the Irish Seal Sanctuary explained the background of how the two seal pups were rescued and brought for rehabilitation to the Seal Sanctuary in Dublin. Paddy was rescued in Achill last August after becoming separated from his mother, and suffered from bite-marks and was underweight. Ronnie was rescued in Cork last July and suffered from the same injuries as Paddy.
After a countdown, the two seals were released from their boxes, with Paddy the quickest from the traps as he headed for the sea. Ronnie, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant, but eventually dragged himself the short distance to the sea. However, like most people when they dip their toe in the north Atlantic waters, he did not take to the cold straight away, and quickly headed for the sand. But with a little coaxing from the Seal Sanctuary volunteers, he braved the sea again and joined Paddy in the search for food.
Lynn Moore explained to The Mayo News that the Seal Sanctuary did not receive any State funding and was reliant on public goodwill to keep the sanctuary open. She said that seals have a high survival rate and she expected both Paddy and Ronnie to be adopted by other seal groups around the Achill coast.
“We don’t tag them but we will have local volunteers in Achill monitoring them and watching how they are doing. Hopefully, they will adjust and become equated with their new surroundings and be able to catch food for themselves. Their instincts are still there to survive and they may range a bit from Achill, but if I was them I would stick around here,” she said.