- 'It was fantastic. The seals took herrings from our hands, fetched them and gave us kisses. We were all very happy,' says Michał Krawczyk, a programmer from Łódź, who visited the prof Krzysztof Skóra Marine Station of the University of Gdańsk with his wife Ismena. He auctioned off his visit to Hel in support of this year's WOŚP final.
The auction of the 29th Great Finale of WOŚP included such attractions prepared by the University of Gdańsk as a visit to the seal sanctuary, a cruise on the Oceanograf scientific research vessel, gadgets autographed by Piotr Sierzputowski and a sculpture Świątek by the Rector of the University of Gdańsk. - 'I am convinced that the employees and supporters of our University will show great heart and great willingness to help, thanks to which we will be able to collect a considerable amount of money, which we will transfer to the account of WOŚP,' - said prof. dr hab. Piotr Stepnowski, Rector of UG, encouraging to participate and support WOŚP. This year's collection was dedicated to support the paediatric laryngology, otolaryngology and head diagnostics wards. The auctions started on January 23 and lasted until February 3.
The Marine Station prepared an attraction for animal lovers, offering in the auction a visit to its facility, presenting the work of scientists, feeding and medical training of grey seals. The seal sanctuary is a unique and extensive complex which houses, among other things, projects for the active protection of marine wildlife, and the seal sanctuary is the part that enjoys the greatest interest among visitors to Hel, especially in the summer.
- 'If you can help and at the same time do something nice for yourself, then we are in favour,' said excited Michał Krawczyk. He admits that he bid for two reasons. Firstly, because of WOŚP, a cause he has participated in for years, and secondly, he loves animals, seals and the Baltic Sea. - 'We value contact with nature and animals. We like the area around the Hel Peninsula, especially after the season - full of forests and empty beaches,' he explains.
This year's finale was different, it lacked direct contacts and personal tossing into the cans. - 'We wanted to do something for WOŚP and help, but due to the situation - differently. Hence the idea of an auction,' - explains Michał Krawczyk. And so they donated PLN 1975 to the Orchestra, mentioning that the last minutes of the auction were very exciting.
The visit to the Station was not only a nice encounter with big-eyed mammals. - 'After the practical part, we visited the nooks and crannies of the Station that are inaccessible to visitors,' recalls Michał Krawczyk. - 'We saw baby seals, including those that will return to the wild,' - he adds. The Station's employees also acquainted the guests with information on porpoises, the threat situation in the Baltic Sea and changes in climate and sea-level rise.
The Station's employees are also satisfied with the visit, although not everything was available to the guests in pandemic conditions. - 'I expected that if someone bids for a visit to the seal centre, they will be interested in what we do,' says dr Iwona Pawliczka vel Pawlik, head of the Marine Station at the UG. - And I wasn't wrong - we were visited by people who are very open to knowledge and to contact with nature around them," she adds.
The guests were invited to come into close contact with the seals. - 'This of course makes the biggest impression but is only for the chosen few. Our seals also had an attraction,' jokes dr Iwona Pawliczka vel Pawlik.
The guests were also invited to visit the seal hospital. There are currently 11 young seals in the Station's rehabilitation centre. Found as not yet independent individuals on the Polish shore of the Baltic Sea, they came under the care of the Station's scientists. They are mainly young grey seals, but there is also one ringed seal, which is quite an unusual guest inhabiting the Arctic seas. - 'We have no newborns this year,' informs dr Iwona Pawliczka vel Pawlik. No more seals have been born at the Station for two years. - 'We have achieved our goal of reintroducing the species back into the natural environment of the southern Baltic,' she explains. For the past ten years, the only places where grey seals live on our coast are the sandbanks at the mouth of the Vistula River. Their population is estimated at around 150-200 individuals.