sufficiently insulated with warm clothing
as travelling in a van with four smelly
seals would require no vehicular heating
and keeping the windows open for the 90
minutes of the journey.
centre, however, at any moment, you
may be asked to assist with tube feeding
or weighing and as a result I have been
privileged to hold owls, fox cubs, badger
cubs, gulls, swans, hedgehogs, mallards,
a puffin, a kittiwake, a manx shearwater,
kestrels, buzzards, and of course assisted
with tube feeding the grey seal pups.
On one occasion an escape artist of an
otter needed to be checked to see if it
could walk properly. As it had made a
previous bid for freedom and was about to
be let loose in a corridor with doors which
could easily be pushed open by an adult
otter, I was asked to stand in the corridor
while the otter was allowed to wander
around. Most people will never see a wild
otter in their lifetime, and here I was with
an inquisitive wild otter scrabbling around
by my feet seeking a possible escape
route. What a privilege.
The objective of the centre is of course to
release all animals and birds back into the
wild, and to be involved in a release is a
great honour. I have been lucky enough
to be involved in two such occasions, one
was the release of four swans onto the
Exeter canal, watching them gliding away
as a group was quite magical.
The other occasion was the release of four
seals and a kittiwake on the North Devon
coast. I was asked to ensure that I was
I had been involved with the kittiwake from
the first day it arrived, when I was asked
to set up its accommodation. It was very
weak and made no attempt to escape as I
transferred it to its temporary home. After
several weeks, it was ready for release
and was extremely lucky to be the one to
release it. As soon as the box was opened,
it flew out and up into the sky, climbing
and circling until eventually it headed out
to sea, a special moment.
The seals were duly released and made
their way out to sea, we caught occasional
glimpses of their heads as they came up
for air. Another special moment, the seals
were back where they belong.
One of the nicest things about being a
volunteer is working with people who
are so dedicated to their roles and are so
knowledgeable and helpful. I have truly
found the best volunteering role I could
hope for.