NALA, a beautiful yearling Cape Fur Seal, has joined the uShaka Sea World family.
Before her arrival at uShaka Sea World, 18-month-old Nala had been in the care of staff at Bayworld in Port Elizabeth since 28 September last year.
She was admitted to Bayworld twice. Her initial admission was after members of the Jeffrey’s Bay NSRI found her in a weakened and severely dehydrated state and transported her to Bayworld’s Rehabilitation Centre.
Nala responded well to her treatment and specially designed dietary programme, gaining enough strength and weight over her initial 10 weeks convalescence to be declared fit for release. On 5 December she was flipper tagged and released at Black Rock.
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Sadly, two days later she was found lying on the beach with severe shark bite wounds. She was readmitted to Bayworld, and once again, nursed back to health.
Although she has fully recovered from her ordeal at sea and appears in good health, she has an undeveloped sense of survival and could not be released into the wild. uShaka Sea World was the ideal and obvious choice of a permanent home for her.
SAAMBR lead behaviourist, Hayley Tennant, said: “She is settling into her new home and learning fast which is wonderful as it means we will be able to introduce her to the bigger seals relatively soon. She is absolutely adorable. Just being near her makes our hearts sing and then when she engages with us, well then our hearts simply burst.”
It will be a while before Nala makes a public appearance.
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