More info: Ecomare is located on the island of Texel which is one of the Dutch Wadden Islands, off the coast of the Netherlands. It combines a shelter for seals and birds with a nature museum and marine aquarium.
Ecomare has information and exhibits about the Wadden Sea, the North Sea and how the island of Texel came to be as well as the 'Dunes of Texel' national park. The centre has harbour seals, porpoises and gray seals which were found when injured and are then nursed back to health. Visitors can watch the daily feeding of the animals.
Ecomare has been taking care of seals since 1952. Generally the seals tend to be in their first year of life and are sick or weakened or have lost their mother during the lactation period. Because harbour seals are born in the summer and gray seals in the winter, Ecomare has seals almost all year round.
Occasionally, other seal species are also taken in , such as the ringed seal and the hooded seal] . When the animals weigh about 30 kilos, they are released back into the Wadden Sea.