Northern fur seal pup spotted near boats recovering at Vancouver Aquarium

VANCOUVER – A northern fur seal pup rescued off the coast of Vancouver Island is being nursed back to health at the Vancouver Aquarium.

The aquarium says the seals are usually found 20 to 150 kilometres offshore in B.C. during their feeding season between January and June, but the seven-month-old pup was spotted by the shores near the Ahousaht First Nation where there is heavy boat traffic.

In a release, the aquarium says the Fisheries and Oceans Canada approved the rescue of the pup that was taken to its Marine Mammal Rescue Centre.

The centre’s manager Lindsaye Akhurst says the pup was emaciated and dehydrated when it arrived but is now doing better.

The aquarium says the only other northern seal pup it rescued was named Nippy, and it was the centre’s first patient in 1960.

The aquarium says the Fisheries Department will decide whether the pup can be released back into the wild once it recovers.