A quartet of seal pups call Vancouver home after being scooped from the shores of the south Island.

Bazzite was first noticed on a rocky outcrop near Sunny Lane in Oak Bay as a newborn. In the method prescribed by the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, he was under surveillance for a bit before Oak Bay police were called in to package him up for the trip to the centre for health reasons.

Maternal separation, the primary reason most of the young Harbour seals are in care there, is listed as young BazziteB次元官网网址檚 official intake reason.

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Bazzite was rescued from Oak Bay June 21 and arrived the next day via Harbour Air, which donates cargo space for transporting marine mammals to the centre.

B次元官网网址淎 large percentage of our animals do come from Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. It allows us to get the animals much faster,B次元官网网址� says a thankful Lindsaye Akhurst, manager of the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

Bazzite was thin and still had his umbilical cord making him fewer than three days old when he arrived.

B次元官网网址淗e seems to be doing alright. HeB次元官网网址檚 got a couple things going on. HeB次元官网网址檚 a little quiet at times so weB次元官网网址檙e monitoring him quite closely,B次元官网网址� says Akhurst. Bazzite has gained a little weight, had clean bloodwork and is getting daily fluids for dehydration.

Another near-newborn, Garnet was brought in from near a Victoria-area Canadian Coast Guard station. A staff member there spotted it there, and alerted the Vancouver marine centre. The next day when he went on shift, Garnet was still there, his mom nowhere in sight. He joined the patient list June 20.

B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 keeping his food down, but heB次元官网网址檚 just very lethargic so heB次元官网网址檚 another one weB次元官网网址檝e been keeping a very close eye on,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says. HeB次元官网网址檚 also on antibiotics and fluid therapy. While heB次元官网网址檚 gained a little weight, he B次元官网网址渓acks spunkB次元官网网址� shown by other seal pups his age, she added.

A pair of seals from Sooke, who are a little older and bigger, made their way to Vancouver June 24 after a few days at the Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre on Salt Spring.

Neapolitan and Banana Split are bigger animals and doing well. B次元官网网址淭hey seem to be bright, alert responsive to their caretakers at this point,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says.

The locals are just four of the many expected seal pups to come in to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Centre this season. They cared for 200 last year.

Once an animal is stabilized and eating fish, staff and volunteers teach them to fish.

When they hit a certain weight and ability the young seals go into a larger pool. There, B次元官网网址渢heyB次元官网网址檒l forage on their own and compete with other seals,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says.

At an average two months, when they hit the 20 to 25 kg weight and can forage on their own and are free from infectious disease, thereB次元官网网址檚 talk of release.

B次元官网网址淭he goal of course is to always release the animals,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says.

The rescue centre selects quieter, protected areas where thereB次元官网网址檚 a known food source for group releases.

The goal, however, is to not have healthy pups in care. The last days of spring and early summer see a surge in pups, on land, docks and populated areas which can cause concern.

B次元官网网址淚t is seal pupping season, it is the time of year where seals are giving birth,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says. B次元官网网址淢oms do leave their pups for an extended period of time while they go out and forage. Not all seal pups you see alone need to be rescued.B次元官网网址�

However, human interaction, tidal changes and weather can all separate a mother from a pup.

B次元官网网址淲e ask people if theyB次元官网网址檙e seeing a seal that they feel is need of some assistance, to call us,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says.

Potentially have someone keep people and pets away from a baby while making the call, and send images and videos to the centre to give an idea of how healthy the young one is.

B次元官网网址淚f we notice in those pictures that theyB次元官网网址檙e very thin, look injured in any way, weB次元官网网址檒l expedite the rescue,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says. B次元官网网址淚f it looks in good condition B次元官网网址� we might just leave it and see if the mom does come back. The best chance for the animal to be healthy is to be with its mom.B次元官网网址�

Call the Vancouver AquariumB次元官网网址檚 Marine Mammal Rescue Centre at 604-258-SEAL (7325) to report a potential marine mammal in distress. Find the centre online at and .

A post shared by (@marinemammalrescue) on Jun 24, 2018 at 2:00pm PDT

WhatB次元官网网址檚 in a name

Each year both marine animal care centres have themes for naming the mammals they help. This year the Vancouver facilityB次元官网网址檚 theme is gemstones (Bazzite and Garnet) while the Salt Spring facility is ice cream (Banana Split and Neapolitan).

B次元官网网址淲e are a non profit organization that does run hugely on our volunteers. We have a strong volunteer base of over 300 people and small staff of under 15,B次元官网网址� Akhurst says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 nice to be able to get them involved in some of the things weB次元官网网址檙e doing and they love naming the animals so itB次元官网网址檚 neat to be able to have that for them.B次元官网网址�