The seal Kroshik refused to swim away to freedom and returned to people (video). Kroshik the seal was moved to a warm pool and he decided that spring had begun and began to shed Kroshik seal VKontakte
Two years ago, the smallest pet in the history of the organization was brought to the Friends of the Baltic Seal Foundation. The baby managed to get out, then they tried to release him back to Ladoga. But the baby seal didn’t want to leave. A year later, Kroshik was released into the lake again, but this attempt also ended unsuccessfully. “360” tells how he lives unusual pet zoologists.
Rescue Kroshik
Almost two years ago, on March 25, 2016, fishermen found a tiny seal calf on the shore of Ladoga near the village of Sviritsa in Leningrad region. The baby was taken by volunteers from the Friends of the Baltic Seal Foundation. As it turned out, the cub became the organization’s tiniest patient in history.
Kroshik, as the small Ladoga ringed seal was later called, had badly worn flippers. He was emaciated, dehydrated and weighed just four kilograms - less than a newborn seal. Every three hours he had to be fed with a solution of minced fish and medicine, said fund employee Elena Andrievskaya. Even then, zoologists noticed that the new pet was not at all afraid of people.
First comeback
At the end of August, zoologists decided to return Kroshik, who had strengthened and completed a rehabilitation course, back to Ladoga. Together with him, the second inhabitant of the center, the seal Pasha, was released into the wild. In contrast, Kroshik swam only 100 meters from the shore, and after 15 minutes returned to the volunteers.
“He climbed out onto the shore, cheerfully walked into a group of people and pretended that he had never left and was not going to leave. Being picked up, he pressed himself against these very hands, showing how much he appreciates simple human warmth and care,” the zoologists explained.
As a result, the cunning pinniped remained to spend the winter in the center. Zoologists made every effort to ensure that the seal weaned itself from people, and taught the seal to get food on its own. He was taught the skills necessary to survive in wildlife. The volunteers already had experience: before Kroshik, the seal Malyshka Inger spent the winter in the center. She was later successfully released into the lake.
Second comeback
On May 22, 2017, Kroshik was solemnly released into Lake Ladoga for the second time. And in mid-June, it was captured on a smartphone camera by fishermen. This worried zoologists.
“We are frightened by Kroshik’s psychological state - the animal continues to seek meetings with a person, which can play a cruel joke on him. Unfortunately, not all people are friendly towards animals,” said the director of the fund, Vyacheslav Alekseev.
And four weeks after saying goodbye, Kroshik returned to the center. Despite the ability to get food, the seal was unable to adapt to life in the wild and continued to seek meetings with people.
How does Kroshik live?
The life of a seal is very eventful. To diversify the seal's leisure time, experts began to teach it training skills.
In addition to frequent training, he helps his caregivers. For example, he participates in the preparation of Ladoga vendace for the winter and controls the quality of the fish.
“We bring the fish, as always, with great adventures, to our place, wash it, package it in bags and freeze it. At the same time, Kroshik controls the quality of our work and takes samples from different places parties. By the end of the day, our assistant gets so tired that he falls asleep right at his workplace,” the volunteers wrote in “ In contact with ».
TO New Year's holidays Kroshik grew himself a luxurious “diamond” mustache.
The seal Kroshik, who took root in the St. Petersburg seal rescue center in Repino, delighted his many fans holiday options mustache on New Year's holidays.
The home for the Ladoga seal is the pinniped rehabilitation center in Repino, the parents are zoologist Vyacheslav Alekseev and veterinarian Elena Andrievskaya.
Kroshik did not want to live in freedom and returned to the people.
Kroshik is the first and only Ladoga seal that is kept in captivity, and at the same time does not want to return to its native element under any circumstances. In the two years that the aquatic puppy has been living with people, he has become a real media star.
The smallest
Kroshik’s story, like that of other patients at the rehabilitation center, is tragic and happy at the same time. In March 2016, a furry baby was found near the village of Sviritsa, Volkhov district, Leningrad region. The wind scattered the ice floes, and the tiny baby was torn from its mother. For several days he walked on the ice, calling for help. Fishermen discovered the exhausted animal and reported the find to rescuers.
“It was the smallest of all the pinniped puppies we met, hence its name,” says head of the pinniped rehabilitation center Vyacheslav Alekseev. – He weighed only 4 kilograms, despite the fact that these animals are born 4.5 kilograms. He immediately became attached to us and constantly asked to be held. During three months together with other puppies, he went through all the necessary medical procedures, grew up, got stronger, and learned to fish on his own. But during the summer release in Ladoga, unlike the rest of his brothers, he just twirled around in the water, then returned and literally threw himself into our arms. This is the first time in 10 years that a seal has not gone free swimming.”
All next year Kroshik was persistently weaned off humans. We reduced all contacts with “parents” to a minimum. They developed new reflexes - for example, they unceremoniously pushed him away with a mop if he demanded affection. Or they simply made noise and disturbed him so that he understood: a person is not only a friend. However, no one could say for sure what was on the mind of this lingering guest.
Kroshik chose the company of people for himself. Photo: State Unitary Enterprise "Vodokanal"
The second edition was held a year later, in the summer of 2017. They brought the seal to Valaam and chose one of the deserted islands. At the decisive moment, the “second-year student” rolled out of the cage and dived into the lake. Set sail. But soon with a joyful splash he appeared again near the shore. And for a whole hour he kept zoologists, journalists, and also the monks gathered for the occasion in suspense - will he leave or not? At one point, Vyacheslav Alekseev had already taken a towel to catch his ward floundering in the shallow water in order to take him back. But Kroshik waved his back flippers, and was gone.
Return of the Prodigal Seal
The seal loves affection. Photo: State Unitary Enterprise "Vodokanal"
Throughout the next month, news of approximately the same content came from different parts of Ladoga. “A friendly seal crawled up to tourists on the beach and hovered around for a long time.” "Near children's camp a pinniped was spotted and made the vacationers very happy.” And even - “A seal swam up to the fishing boat and circled around for a long time, asking to board. The guest was taken onto the boat and fed fish. After that he slept and then ran away.”
“It was clear that this was our Kroshik,” explains veterinarian Elena Andrievskaya. “It was necessary to urgently take him back, otherwise such contacts could end badly. It is unclear who he will run into next time. Moreover, fishermen do not favor seals - they spoil their nets and eat their catch.”
During the next meeting with tourists who reported the seal to the police, Vyacheslav Alekseev went to the scene. And soon Kroshik was happily sleeping in a quarantine box in Repino - his wanderings were over. During the month of his voyages, he lost only 1 kilogram, that is, he caught fish on his own, adapted to wild conditions. But I haven’t gotten used to the person. He was bored alone.
Spins on the spot and raises the flipper
Now Kroshik lives in an outdoor pool in conditions as close to natural as possible. Chilly water, a crust of ice, a cap of snow.
“He spends most of his time in the water,” said the center’s specialists, “it’s warmer there than outside. Most often it lies on the bottom, rising to the hole every 5-10 minutes to take a breath of air. He scratches the holes himself, or we help. It feeds on vendace, which is found in Lake Ladoga and is the basis of the seal’s diet.”
Now Kroshik lives in the pool. Photo: From personal archive/ Vyacheslav Alekseev
At any free moment, the center’s employees try to look at the puppy, scratch its belly, cuddle it, give it a ride: that’s all the seal is waiting for. He also learned to raise his flipper on command, turn around his axis and bring his favorite toy - a ball. The goal of such training is the constant development of the seal so that it does not turn into a lazy person who only eats, sleeps and basks on its side.
“We are not going to send Kroshik to the circus,” explains Vyacheslav. – Keeping seals in captivity is extremely difficult, almost impossible. A new rescue season will soon begin in the Baltic and Ladoga, which promises to be difficult - there is little ice this year, and female seals may have problems feeding their offspring. If Ladoga seal squirrels come to us, we will try to place them with Kroshik and see how they interact. We hope that the senior comrade will teach new patients the skills of adult life.”
As for Kroshik’s future, experts say that in 2-3 years he will reach puberty. And who knows - maybe he will get tired of being “small”, the call of nature will awaken, and he will still want to return to his native element.
It is possible that someday the seals will return to their native element
Two seals - Kroshik and Pasha - were patients of the Center for Study and Conservation marine mammals In Petersburg. Rescuers tried to release the animals on Valaam Island into Lake Ladoga, but Kroshik refused to swim away from the people and returned after 15 minutes of swimming.
The pinnipeds underwent rehabilitation at the center and should now return to independent life, writes Nevskie Novosti.
Director of the Baltic Seal Foundation Vyacheslav Alekseev says this is an exceptional case. Apparently, this turn is even for the better, because Kroshik is too trusting.
According to him, Kroshik is the most little seal in the world who has ever been treated by a person for rehabilitation: he weighed only 4 kg. This is lower than their birth weight.
“Kroshik is very for a long time was attached to a person. Now there are glimmers of awareness of the “correct” behavior, so we decided to release him into Lake Ladoga this year. In general, initially we thought to release him only next year. This happened because he spent little time with the female - two or three days in total. Therefore, the cub transferred his natural love to the person. At first it was difficult for us to simply move away from him - Kroshik demanded constant attention and time. We stroked him, of course, and held him in our arms.”, says the director of the fund.
So that this baby, attached to a person, can more easily get used to wild environment, rescuers and decided on this expedition to Valaam. They hoped that in a place remote from people he would begin to hunt on his own. The procedure will be repeated in the fall or next spring.
Kroshik is the first and only Ladoga seal that is kept in captivity, and at the same time does not want to return to its native element under any circumstances. In the two years that the aquatic puppy has been living with people, he has become a real media star.
The smallest
Kroshik’s story, like that of other patients at the rehabilitation center, is tragic and happy at the same time. In March 2016, a furry baby was found near the village of Sviritsa, Volkhov district, Leningrad region. The wind scattered the ice floes, and the tiny baby was torn from its mother. For several days he walked on the ice, calling for help. Fishermen discovered the exhausted animal and reported the find to rescuers.
“It was the smallest of all the pinniped puppies we met, hence its name,” says head of the pinniped rehabilitation center Vyacheslav Alekseev. - He weighed only 4 kilograms, despite the fact that these animals are born 4.5 kilograms. He immediately became attached to us and constantly asked to be held. Within three months, together with other puppies, he underwent all the necessary medical procedures, grew up, became stronger, and learned to fish on his own. But during the summer release in Ladoga, unlike the rest of his brothers, he just twirled around in the water, then returned and literally threw himself into our arms. This is the first time in 10 years that a seal has not gone free swimming.”
Throughout the next year, Kroshik was persistently weaned off humans. We reduced all contacts with “parents” to a minimum. They developed new reflexes - for example, they unceremoniously pushed him away with a mop if he demanded affection. Or they simply made noise and disturbed him so that he understood: a person is not only a friend. However, no one could say for sure what was on the mind of this lingering guest.
Kroshik chose the company of people for himself. Photo: State Unitary Enterprise "Vodokanal"
The second edition was held a year later - in the summer of 2017. They brought the seal to Valaam and chose one of the deserted islands. At the decisive moment, the “second-year student” rolled out of the cage and dived into the lake. Set sail. But soon with a joyful splash he appeared again near the shore. And for a whole hour he kept zoologists, journalists, and also the monks gathered for the occasion in suspense - will he leave or not? At one point, Vyacheslav Alekseev had already taken a towel to catch his ward floundering in the shallow water in order to take him back. But Kroshik waved his back flippers, and was gone.
Return of the Prodigal Seal
The seal loves affection. Photo: State Unitary Enterprise "Vodokanal"
Throughout the next month, news of approximately the same content came from different parts of Ladoga. “A friendly seal crawled up to tourists on the beach and hovered around for a long time.” “A pinniped was spotted in the area of the children’s camp; it made the campers very happy.” And even - “A seal swam up to the fishing boat and circled around for a long time, asking to board. The guest was taken onto the boat and fed fish. After that he slept and then ran away.”
“It was clear that this was our Kroshik,” explains veterinarian Elena Andrievskaya. “It was necessary to urgently take him back, otherwise such contacts could end badly. It is unclear who he will run into next time. Moreover, fishermen do not favor seals - they spoil their nets and eat their catch.”
During the next meeting with tourists who reported the seal to the police, Vyacheslav Alekseev went to the scene. And soon Kroshik was happily sleeping in a quarantine box in Repino - his wanderings were over. During the month of his voyages, he lost only 1 kilogram, that is, he caught fish on his own and adapted to wild conditions. But I haven’t gotten used to the person. He was bored alone.
Spins on the spot and raises the flipper
Now Kroshik lives in an outdoor pool in conditions as close to natural as possible. Chilly water, a crust of ice, a cap of snow.
“He spends most of his time in the water,” said the center’s specialists, “it’s warmer there than outside. Most often it lies on the bottom, rising to the hole every 5-10 minutes to take a breath of air. He scratches the holes himself, or we help. It feeds on vendace, which is found in Lake Ladoga and is the basis of the seal’s diet.”
Now Kroshik lives in the pool. Photo: From personal archive / Vyacheslav Alekseev
At any free moment, the center’s employees try to look at the puppy, scratch its belly, cuddle it, give it a ride: that’s all the seal is waiting for. He also learned to raise his flipper on command, turn around his axis and bring his favorite toy - a ball. The goal of such training is the constant development of the seal so that it does not turn into a lazy person who only eats, sleeps and basks on its side.
“We are not going to send Kroshik to the circus,” explains Vyacheslav. - Keeping seals in captivity is extremely difficult, almost impossible. A new rescue season will soon begin in the Baltic and Ladoga, which promises to be difficult - there is little ice this year, and female seals may have problems feeding their offspring. If Ladoga seal squirrels come to us, we will try to place them with Kroshik and see how they interact. We hope that the senior comrade will teach new patients the skills of adult life.”
As for Kroshik’s future, experts say that in 2-3 years he will reach puberty. And who knows - maybe he will get tired of being “small”, the call of nature will awaken, and he will still want to return to his native element.
It is possible that someday the seals will return to their native element. Photo:
The seal Kroshik was moved to a warm pool and he decided that spring had begun and began to moult
Two years ago they found a very small cub and went out to Pinniped Rehabilitation Center in the Leningrad region. When it was decided to release Kroshik into Lake Ladoga, he soon returned back to the people. Subsequent attempts were also unsuccessful.
Now Kroshik lives permanently in the Center and news about him regularly touches the hearts of the residents of St. Petersburg and the entire RuNet. And it's not just the cute name and his story, Kroshek is truly an adorable seal, he looks like a very round and soft plush ottoman and acts like one.
Kroshik usually lives in an outdoor pool, but recently, after frosty days, it was decided to move Kroshka inside to a warm pool.
Nerpa Kroshik perceived his move to greenhouse conditions as the beginning of spring; he decided that April had already arrived and therefore began to moult. A month ahead of schedule. Maybe he did this on purpose so that he would not be kicked out onto the street again.
“In general, our little lazy guy has been lying on the shelf with his belly up for a week, doesn’t eat, doesn’t swim, and gladly allows us to help him scratch his thick sides and beautiful belly,” they write in the group of the Pinniped Rehabilitation Center in contact,” “Looks he himself is now like a dusty fur toy that has lain in the attic for several years, and in his home all surfaces are covered with pieces of peeling skin.”
Kroshik definitely doesn’t want to go back to the cold and is waiting until real spring warmth comes.
