THESE gorgeous seals are among 20 being cared for by staff at West Hatch Animal Rescue Centre near Taunton.

They are being fattened up and treated to ensure they are healthy enough to return to the sea, and last Friday a ‘weigh-in’ was held to see how the seals are doing.

The rescue centre has been helping to look after seal pups brought in from all over the South West.

Already two have been released and it is hoped that next week a further eight will be healthy enough to leave.

Wildlife assistant Roz Buckley said there were various reasons why they were looking after the pups.

“The main reason we take pups in is because we want to make sure they are not in any immediate danger and to look after them if they have any wounds,” she said.

“We have agencies monitoring seals around the South West coast and they let us and other animal organisations know if we need to step in and look after the pups.

“You have to be careful because it can be very distressing for them and also for the mothers who might return but we need to nurse them back to health.

“They can have various injuries from cuts to abscesses but there are also more serious injuries like mangled flippers which may require amputation.

“What we do is take care of them and fatten them up so that they weigh around 40 kilos and then we release them off the Devon coast.”

The rescue centre said it had expected to be looking after more seals following the closure of another animal centre but mild weather had given a helping hand. Roz added: “Last year we had 45 seals and this year we were expecting to have about 50 or 60 but the weather has been quite mild during the birthing season.

“But the stormy weather now means we can’t release them just yet as we don’t want to put them in any danger.”

Roz said that the seals had been an absolute dream to watch.

“They’re quite inquisitive creatures and their attributes are similar to dogs.

“They can sense if you’re feeling nervous or scared so it’s important that we respect them and they’ll give us respect back.

“They’re very intelligent and have been a pleasure to work with.

“This year all their names are fish themed.

“They’re mostly very friendly to each other and it’s an absolute dream to see them getting on as they press their noses together and have a good sniff.

“We think we have four here and another four at Combe Martin ready to be released – we’re just hoping the weather doesn’t turn.”