Date: March 14, 2007
Huge Thank You
to All who Helped with
Acquiring Video Camera for the Seals
Dear All Cape Fur
Seal Supporters,
Within 24 hours, we now have
sufficient funds to acquire the video camera, Earle has just
informed me. Our good friend Eddy, besides a donation has
allowed us to make use of his courier service, so I should
have the camera, next week. So a huge thank you to all that
made this possible, Paul Watson kindly wrote that he too will be in
Canada, and will make up any shortfall we have.
After a number of years of working on this open jetty in all
weather conditions, I have experienced the most terrible abuse of
seals that have come to Seal Alert-SA needing help. Weak pups
falling in concrete holes and drowning, poachers hitting seals (to
chase them away so that they can poach crayfish in the rocks)with
bottles or physically hitting them with sticks or stabbing them. My
constant ever changing group of 25 - 50 seals (or 1000 a year),
undergo constant harassment. Even from well meaning members of the
public. To put it mildly, it has been a nightmare for both me
and the seals.
As the centre,is nearing completion, in sense of the
babies and the two pools - in so far as we have a nice working
environment. With Mezzanine level and office space, and dive
lockers, additional roller-shutter doors still to be addressed. My
next priority, once the jetski is complete and both are serviced.
To focus on the Catamaran's revamp (this will be the babies next
floating home by May/June). If funds are sufficient, my next
priority is to address the evils mentioned above created by the
open jetty. In the pic on the right above, this lower pier, will be
my next focus. The half broken wall will be removed, above on the
higher pier, I would like to construct, a 2 metre high solid
brick/concrete wall to run down its length. This will give the
seals the protection they need when I am not there or away on
rescues. I plan to level the floor with a slight incline, and put
an access ramp from the centre onto this pier, and at the far end,
a ramp into the sea, for the seals to climb up on. Further plans
involved two outside rehab pools and a disentanglement area, as
well as a launching/retrieving system/pulley for the boats.
Hopefully, this is achieved by May/June. Then,
and only then, will I have the peace of mind to leave this
facility, knowing they (the seals) are safe, and go out into the
wild daily with the babies and rescues.
This is when the filming will truly take place,
from May onwards. We plan to post regular segments onto the
internet, for you all to download and view, and those with dial-up,
we will post DVD's. I will have a camera mounted on my head at all
times, and with the latest camera shoots taken of underwater and on
the seal colonies, and during rescues. You will experience, what it
is like to ride with three baby seals on a jetski out at sea, and
see how vulnerable they are in the wild, and how they seek support
from each other and me. You will experience what it is truly like
to swim with seals above and below the water, and how they hold on.
Feel what it is like swimming through white shark patrolled waters,
before crawling in amongst a group of wild seals to free an
entangled one or rescue one. Feel what it is like to be confronted
by a 300kg bull lying down face to face. How they behave and
react, and how accepting they are if done right. You will
experience seals coming ashore on previously banned islands, and
how nervous they are.
You will feel the joy, and see it in their eyes, when
a seal is helped at sea. You will experience an amazing visual
display of phosphorus in the water at night, and how
an amazing blue light is generated, that illuminates the seals
every swim motion. Experience the babies joining a wild colony, and
how out of thousands of look-alike seals, the babies respond to
their call. You will experience how a wild, dying, terrified seals
responds to just gentle touch. This is only the start.
So although we are moving slowly, we are moving
forward - please be patient. Everything has to do with lack of
funds, so when we get, we move forward.
Exciting times, lay ahead. For all you all have done,
thank you.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
From: SEAL ALERT-SA
Date: March 4, 2007
Thank You for
the Birthday Thoughts
Dear All Cape Fur Seal
Supporters,
Tomorrow is my Birthday, and I turn
44. Thank you all for the birthday messages, you are all most kind
and thoughtful, and its very appreciated. Doing what I do somewhat
isolates me from my fellow human beings, and as such, things like
birthday, Christmas, Easter, Holidays and New Year, become just
another day in the seal world. It seems Mumkin has really gotten
into your hearts from the messages received from my last email, (He
was informed), and it is so pleasing that a species that was seen
as 'vermin', with phrases, like 'the only good seal - is a dead
seal', has as such been transformed - for this, on their behalf my
deepest thanks.
Mumkin refuses to leave. Our previous
rehabbed seals returned to the wild and self-survival by
mid-January. Mumkin although becoming less dependent on
tube-feeding, clearly has no immediate plans to leave the
area.
In
the pic above, Alpha after watching Mumkin intently, attempts to
mimic Mumkin suckling his flipper. Only problem is, Alpha cant get
it right to reach the end of his flipper, instead he turns his
flipper inside out or tries to reach the end extending it further
away. Mumkin introducing himself to Eddy.
Sadly Eddy, after 13 days of rehad died.
Initially she recovered well, but then instinct kidded in when she
felt better, and this drove her to go home. She would never have
survived, and with almost certainty, her mom was no longer around
or alive, but instinct is something - a wonder of nature, we have
yet to understand. She tried everything to find a way out of the
centre, never giving up hope of being re-united with her mom -
and this sadly, was her undoing, with no "bond", stress builds, and
finally she weakens and dies. No medication, food or love, can
change this.
We are now at day 107 into this group baby seal rehab. Last year
the group reached day 114, before Max left and Myrna weakened and
died. While I am extremely hopefully, there are similar signs (like
last year), that the non-bonding issue is increasing becoming an
issue. I therefore fear for Alpha and JT. It progresses very
slowly, building and building, until the point of no-bond, followed
by leaving or death. JT is not suckling on my arm as hard, and the
other day, she stayed away after tubing, treating me as some kind
of stranger. Alpha, likewise refuses to be handled, and after
tearing my arm to almost shreds during each feed, has forced me to
wear gloves.
Smell and scent, is everything to them. I
recently transferred them into the 2nd pool, and the terror of the
'new smells', made them all impossible to handle for the first 24
hours. I had to leave an item of clothing with my scent, before
things calmed down. Alpha and JT will only suckle my right arm, and
it must be tongue on my flesh. Omega on my left arm, neck or
face.
Tonite, JT vomited after her fed, which is another possible sign,
that things are deteriorating. Hopefully the deep bonds the three
share between them, will help to carry them through. Fortunately or
unfortunately, Omega is not as strongly bonded, as previous pups,
and so allows and tolerates the others suckling on me, to a certain
extent, provide they only use my right arm.
The pups love the warmth of the infra-red light and Omega is
getting to grips with the jetski and where he should sit, when we
journey out to sea.How I will handle all three, out at sea, remains
to be seen.
In the coming months my attention is focused on these pups, and
whilst this is going on, getting all my equipment, rafts, boats,
jetski's in perfect working order. I am presently respraying the
three-seater jetski (as without corporate colours/logo, riding in a
marine protected area off Hout Bay, to which jetski's are banned,
creates endless problems of arrest), even though I have applied for
an exemption, and have still not received a reply. Next will
be a revamp of the Catamaran (for the pups floating stage 2 rehab)
and then the two rafts. Dependent upon what funds are received in
the coming months, I will progress the centre accordingly, but for
the moment we have a nice working set-up.
Besides the pups and equipment, my next focus is
to investigate physically the islands and find ways of getting
seals back on them (by hook or by crook). Durban Aquarium called,
and it appears they are having no success rehabbing pups or babies,
and have asked to see me on the 20th - for advice (more on this
development later). Later this week, we should receive the minutes
of our meeting with head of MCM, Dr Mayekiso, which I will forward
you a copy.
My Birthday gift to you. In the coming months,
my wife Nelda, (who will do the editing), and I will make a short
DVD film on what it is truly like to do what I do. Going out to sea
in storm conditions, swimming through shark waters to reach seal
colonies, crawling amongst big bulls to reach a dying seal,
seal-less islands, disentangling and much, much more - and of
course, the pups integration into the wild. I will be wearing a
head-cam, and so the shots should be exciting and very real. I will
send you each a copy.
For years, I felt like a lone voice shouting for
the seals, but lately - things have changed. It is now my turn for
others to shout at me, "Hi Francois. I loved your positive e-mail.
And yes I think now you are not a lonely voice anymore. It is March
already, nearly and four months to go before the seal
slaughter begins. Let us not keep this quiet till the last minute,
but rather do a build up before the count down so that awareness is
already created before the first blow. Maybe this time we can get
Carte Blanch in. Derek Watts was here for a children's trust golf
day - I asked him "why not the seals." But I am sure we can
persuade them. I know a bit more, and have seen the factory and
layout now - so I come prepared. Everything has quietened down here
along the coast. No dead seals, and Cape Cross is is busy but not
packed.Keep smiling. Donna and Savannah
Hold thumbs for the babies, and thanks for all
the messages. Rest assured all, with your help, I am working on a
million ways to help these seals.
PS - Thanks to you, Germany and Netherlands has banned Cape fur
Seals. www.infurmation.com/press_detail.php?id=405.
South Africa, is the biggest importer, this we are
addressing.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA