Airdate: Saving Our Seals

On Friday, Melbourne viewers will be getting a Nine News special, Saving Our Seals as Livinia Nixon joins Victoria’s first Marine Response Unit in action and learns about the plight of Bass Strait seals.

Seals, such loveable creatures with their big brown eyes and playful nature, are a favourite among wildlife enthusiasts. They are inquisitive as well as hungry, which means they often get caught in sticky situations involving fishing lines, nets, or often rubbish. Sadly, it’s not just human carelessness but human cruelty that is to blame.

In this half-hour documentary, Livinia Nixon will learn what happens when a seal is in distress and the Marine Response Unit, run by Zoos Victoria, is called in to help. Led by zookeeper Mark Keenan, the MRU tracks down seals in distress and frees them from entanglement. If they are strong enough they will be released back into the wild. If not, they will be taken to the Melbourne Zoo for further treatment and rehabilitation if required.

The Marine Response Unit, sponsored by AGL, has been running since 2013. With the help of organisations such as Parks Victoria, Fisheries Victoria and many volunteers, the unit treats and cares for seals as well as other marine animals that have come off second-best in encounters with humans. The MRU relies on the community to report on any injured and distressed marine wildlife on Victoria’s coastline.

With stunning and uplifting vision of seals being released back into the sea, and the heartbreaking reality of the injuries inflicted on seals by mankind, this educational documentary is set to inspire people to take more care with our precious marine wildlife.

Friday at 7.30pm on Nine (check local guides).