Because of our seals' breeding season, we are not able to do seal rescues at the moment. The newborns cannot swim, and a "seal stampede" caused by a rescue would drag many of them into the water. We can monitor, but we cannot get to entangled animals. It is especially difficult when we find new moms who are entangled and in need of a quick catch and release. We resist the temptation to jump in, because the consequences are too unpredictable. It's just a matter of a few more days or weeks, and we will be back in action.
We have been using the time to take the family to Luderitz to meet up with Dr. Jean-Paul Roux from the Luderitz Marine Research. JP is one of the leading seal experts in Namibia, he has been studying them for 35 years. He is often our first go to person with any seal related question. His knowledge is remarkable and we have been wanting to meet up for a long time. Much of our knowledge about seals and their history in Namibia comes directly from him and we are vey grateful that he is always willing to help and assist us.
Luderitz is only 450km away from Walvis Bay in a direct line, but the shortest route takes about 10 hours to drive, strictly 4x4 this time of the year because we are hoping for much needed rain. Luderitz is home to massive colonies as well, but they are in the restricted diamond area where the public is not allowed access. We are on good terms with the responsible ministries and we will obtain the necessary permits to check for seal entanglements next time.
On our way back from Luderitz, we stopped in Klein Aus in the middle of the desert in Southern Namibia, and we were delighted to bump into Francois Theart from "Snakes of Namibia". He is a local snake hero, he has done thousands of captures and relocations. He is as committed to snakes as we are committed to marine life. As we met him, Naude spotted a massive Cap Cobra in the parking lot. The Cape Cobra is a highly venomous snake and probably would have been killed straight away. But Francois and his team quickly got their snake rescue hook and caught him. They allowed us to come along a few hours later when they relocated him and released him into safety about 10km away.
