Durban - He has the cutest, huge round eyes, stuffs 12kg of fish and calamari into his mouth every day and weighs 130kg.
Selso, the latest guest at uShaka Sea World, is beating the odds after being found close to death on Southbroom beach two months ago.
The baby southern elephant seal was severely underweight and thousands of kilometres from home.
He is thought to be the first elephant seal in the world to be rehabilitated.
It was unusual for the seal to strand on the KZN coastline as they are found in colonies on islands in the sub-Antarctic region and Antarctica.
Much time is spent at sea, with the seals returning to their colonies to breed and pup.
Large males can grow to 4 000kg, and have large snouts, leading to the term “elephant seal”. Females range from 600 to 900kg. They can swim well, spending up to 30 minutes at a time underwater at depths of 300-800m, according to www.antarctica.gov.au.
The deepest they can dive is down to a bone-crushing 1 500m.
Sea World animal behaviourist, Bilal Limbada, said the seals would sometimes pop up on islands, including Marion Island, and disappear again, but it was uncommon for them to reach the South Coast.
Limbada said in meetings with other experts it had been decided that the ultimate goal should be to release Selso back into the wild.
Limbada said two criteria had to be met first: He had to moult and he had to reach 180-200kg. When he was found he weighed just 70kg.
Limbada said they didn’t know exactly what to feed Selso because research on the species was scant.
They settled on a 50/50 approach of lean fish and rich fish, made up of squid, hake and pilchards, eaten as four meals a day.
Limbada said they were going to iron out a behavioural plan to ensure the seal’s transition back to the ocean was as stress-free as possible.
He wanted to ensure the seal was as desensitised as possible to all aspects of the move, because the species did not deal well with stress.
The seal, estimated to be 22 months old, would be transported as close to its natural habitat as possible, far from land, to give him a high chance of survival.
Limbada said southern elephant seals did not enjoy long lives in the wild.
“Every day he is out there surviving is a bonus.”
Ann Kunz, spokeswoman for uShaka Sea World, said: “Selso will be released at sea, in the Agulhas current, where he will find rich food supplies.”
Limbada could not put a precise date on Selso’s expected release.
“Because it is a first, we don’t know,” he said.
This was in part because of uncertainties about what would happen to his weight during moulting season, when his appetite would die down.
For the moment, Selso has found a home in his specially chilled pool at the uShaka Sea World rehabilitation centre, where he will stay until he is ready for release. - Daily News
