Return to the wild gets pupils’ seal of approval

Lucky by name — lucky by nature.

A sick seal who was found stranded on the Cork coastline last year was counting her blessings yesterday as she was released back into the wild — with a friend.

Lucky, who was found on rocks near Schull, was rescued by a veterinary surgeon and stabilised in his clinic over several days before she was transferred to the Irish Seal Sanctuary in Garristown, in north Co Dublin for treatment.

Staff at the sanctuary spent several weeks nursing Lucky, a four-month-old female grey seal, back to full health.

She was one of two grey seals who were found stranded on the Cork coastline within weeks of each other, to be released into the wild at Garrettstown beach in west Cork yesterday.

Lucky and Oliver, a slightly older male grey seal, both shuffled off into the Atlantic surf, watched by dozens of pupils from Ballinspittle National School.

Lucky was cared for by Tim O’Leary, a Ballydehob-based veterinary surgeon, after she was found on December 28 last.

About one-month-old at the time, she had a large gash over her left eye.

“We don’t know what caused it but it was something very sharp and quick. It was a clean cut and she was very lucky not to lose her eye,” a spokesperson for the Irish Seal Sanctuary said.

Mr O’Leary, who is also a member of Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, said the seal was also extremely underweight — at 12kg, just a quarter of what she should have been.

At 40kg yesterday, she was carrying a few extra pounds as she headed off into the ocean.

Oliver, meanwhile, was found in a very sick condition on Garrettstown beach on January 17 — the same day a whale became stranded in Courtmacsherry Bay.

Mark O’Sullivan from Ballinspittle was out walking his dog when he saw Oliver hiding behind a rock.

He contacted Rosscarbery-based veterinary surgeon Tom Farrington and seal sanctuary volunteer Helen Silke, who all helped in the animal’s rescue.

Oliver was very underweight and had aspirated lungs due to a serious lung infection.

He was treated with medication at the seal sanctuary headquarters and was given a clean bill of health before his release.