Ice-machine helps sun-seeking seal
Updated on 26 August 2008
An Arctic seal with an apparent dislike of the cold is gradually conquering his strange phobia with the aid of a giant ice machine, experts said.
Sahara the hooded seal has already been rescued twice after spurning his cold native waters in favour of warmer seas of the Mediterranean.
He first washed up on a beach in the Canary Islands and was flown to the National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall, to recuperate before being released again near the Orkneys.
Animal care supervisor Tamara Cooper said instead of then heading back towards Greenland, he turned south again and made his way to Spain to be rescued a second time.
Sahara is now a permanent resident at the sanctuary and his carers are using a giant ice machine to try and cure his fear of the cold.
The machine, donated by Ipswich-based Hubbard Ice Systems, can produce half-a-ton of ice every day.
Staff said Sahara fled to the opposite end of his enclosure when they first started shovelling in the ice, but the cold treatment seems now to be working.
Ms Cooper said: "It took a little while, but some memory from his pup-hood eventually seemed to surface and he came for a closer inspection.
"Once he'd had a sniff and then slid over the top of it for the first time he found he actually likes it.
"We don't think it will be long now before Sahara is a proper ice-loving Alaskan seal again."
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