Hillswick wildlife sanctuary Archived rescues

Wildlife Rescues Archive
Meet some of our friends who have stayed at Hillswick
Some of the images may be distressing to some on this page

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Many creatures suffer injury for a variety of reasons. Most who come to the Sanctuary return to their wild habitat, we hope you enjoy meeting them.

Zeus	A grey seal found dragging approx. 100feet of netting from his neck. The netting had created a terrible wound and had to be cut off. Recovery in salt water baths enabled Zeus to return to his natural home.	Neck wound Healing Nearly ready to go home
Isis	A very large grey seal about 2 years old had hauled out at Scalloway. We think she was hit by a propellor which took one eye and damaged the other. The injuries were terrible with a greatly swollen head. On arrival she was exhausted and slept for three days snoring! A pool was filled with salt water daily to aid healing. She was very wild and unapproachable. She didn't eat for a week and then began to take fish. The change had to be seen to be believed. In 20 years of caring for seals this was the first time Jan thought maybe a seal needed to be put down, but Isis survived. Within 3 weeks Isis was in an outdoor tank and 6 weeks later she was desperate to leave. Her head kept turning towards the smell of the sea that was obviously calling to her. There was still the question whether a blind seal could survive in the wild. Then a call from Orkney revealed that a blind grey seal was seen pupping each year. So after discussion with the S.S.P.C.A. Isis returned to the sea. Seals hunt using their whiskers sensing the vibrations of shoals of fish. The S.S.P.C.A. paid for Isis care, thanks to Ron Paterson.	Head and eye damage Beginning to heal Home
Silver	Silver our resident seal has her own page!!	Click here to meet Silver on her own page!
Ondine	A hooded seal was found on a beach at Mangaster, Northmavine. She was named Ondine, which means water nymph. The woman who found her heard her cry and when she reached her she was so hungry she was trying to eat pebbles.	Ondine
Amber	Amber arrived at the sanctuary when she was only 5/6 weeks old. A man from Whalsay found her crying at the top of his track. After waiting 24 hours he took her in, fed her and then rang Hillswick. She was fed Lactol for 2/3 months and although very tiny had quite a bite! Young otters imprint on humans very easily if they come to the sanctuary very young. At first they need a lot of close contact and then have to be slowly and carefully weaned off human contact altogether. Caring for baby otters is time-consuming because they are dependant on the mother until they are 9/10 months old. After feeding with Lactol, small pieces of fish are introduced until whole fish can be taken. Otters love to play and this interaction helps them survive after they have lost their mother. Our first otter was brought to the sanctuary by the local naturalist Bobby Tulloch who gave us help in learning the best way to care for them. Otters need to exercise and Amber became Pete's shadow! Eventually we were able to return her to Whalsay where she was originally found.
Osiris	Osiris a leatherback turtle arrived at the sanctuary in 2000. She had become entangled in a lobster line off Yell. By the time she arrived at Hillswick she was in a coma. She was seven feet long, had an eight feet flipper span and weighed around three quarters of a ton. We think she was at least 50 years old. We spent three days and nights doing everything experts were advising us to do to save her, as turtles were a bit outside of our experience. Sadly she died but her memory lives on. A cast was taken of her body and a model of her now hangs in the Shetland museum.	Osiris

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