An unexpected visitor was found in the Diemerpark near IJburg on Sunday morning: a seal pup of about 3 weeks old. It is rare for a seal to be spotted in Amsterdam, and especially not this young.
Olaf Heyblom 21 January 2024, 20:49
The seal pup was spotted by passers-by, who called the animal ambulance. “We heard that he had already been spotted yesterday, but the call was only made today,” says the director of Dierenambulance Amsterdam. “When we arrived, he was lying in the grass, on dry land.”
According to the director, it is exceptional that the seal appears in East Amsterdam. “An employee who has been working in the control room for 32 years had never experienced this before. And certainly not a puppy. Seals sometimes appear in the Amsterdam area, such as once in the canals, but these are adults. I have not yet experienced a puppy all the way on the east side.”
Fluorescent spray
The age of the animal is estimated at only 3 weeks, while a puppy is still with its mother for the first 2 weeks. In that short time, the puppy has already done all kinds of tricks. “He was already known, because he had already been tagged twice with a fluorescent spray, although not in the Amsterdam area.”
The question is how the seal, which normally lives in the North Sea between IJmuiden and Wijk aan Zee, can suddenly be found in the Diemer Park. “He went out, took a wrong turn and jumped into the IJ,” laughs the director of Dierenambulance Amsterdam.
The puppy was still in good condition, was on track and not injured. A seal keeper from the Pieterburen seal center captured the animal and released it into the sea near IJmuiden.
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2024-01-21 19:49:50
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