AMWRRO Rescue New Zealand Fur Seal
You’ll find answers to frequently asked questions about injured animals on the following pages:
seabird seal turtle dolphin/whale
Q. What should I do if I find a seal on the beach (or outside its normal habitat?)
A. Please contact AMWRRO on 08 8262 5452 for assistance and advice.
Seals are often found on our beaches throughout South Australia, this doesn’t always mean they require attention or are sick as South Australia has the largest number of breeding colonies of seals in Australia and are often found sharing our beaches.
Q. Am I allowed to approach this animal to check it is ok?
A. In South Australia there is a 30m no approach zone for all seals whilst on land (this is as much for your safety as it is the theirs).
Seals can move extremely fast when on land despite their appearance and especially when approached, threatened or cornered.
Seals can often be found in the shallow waters (surf or white wash) areas along most Adelaide metropolitan beaches. These animals are often found floating with one or more flippers pointing upwards out of the water. In 99.9% of cases these animals are not sick nor do they require rescuing; they are simply thermo regulating by holding their flipper out of the water and warming their core temperature.
Seals have extremely large arteries in all four flippers; by exposing one or more to the direct sunlight they are able to warm up and or cool down their blood, hence are thermo regulating.
If you find an seal or pup that you believe is underweight, entangled or is stranded outside its normal habitat please contact AMWRRO immediately for advice.
Please keep children and dogs away from this animal at all times as they too are considered as predators and will increase the seals stress levels. Stress is extremely important to keep at an absolute minimum at this point in time as an increased stress level can and will kill this animal if mistreated.
