Cornwall seal sanctuary ranks its residents – which tops the charts?

Published 1 hour ago
Source: metro.co.uk
A composite image of one seal's head looking up at the camera (left) and another lying on its front, cocking its head to the side while looking into the camera
Nice Jarvis (left) and naughty Aayla (right) were the residents named as the naughtiest and nicests this year at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary (Picture: Cornish Seal Sanctuary)

A seal sanctuary in Cornwall has embraced the Christmas spirit by ranking its resident animals from nicest to naughtiest this year.

Much like Santa Claus, the staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek have deemed which seals have been particularly naughty or nice in 2025.

The sanctuary is home to eight grey seals, three common seals and rescues and rehabilitates up to 70 seal pups yearly, so whittling down the list could prove tricky.

But which resident seals made the list and who managed to top the charts?

A seal laying in shallow water and sand
‘Absolute angel’ and the ‘goodest of good eggs’, Jarvis was crowned the nicest seal (Picture: Cornish Seal Sanctuary)

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The seals were spotlighted on Cornish Seal Sanctuary’s Facebook page, posting pictures and videos of the happy sea creatures and sharing their reasoning for each ranking.

Starting with the nicest resident, this award goes to Jarvis, who staff described as the ‘goodest of good eggs’ and an ‘absolute angel’.

He has also been recognised for not being on the naughty list at all this year, so it seems Jarvis is worthy of being deemed the nicest seal.

The sanctuary said: ‘From becoming a pro at crate training to mastering teeth brushing (still with a little help from the team or course), Jarvis is the goodest of good eggs!’

Naming the naughtiest resident was contentious after the sanctuary admitted there were ‘a few contenders’ this year.

Close up of a seal swimming in the water
Dubbed the Queen of Chaos, Aayla was named the naughtiest resident this year for her antics during feeding and nap time (Picture: Cornish Seal Sanctuary)

The naughtiest seal award went to Aayla, the Queen of Chaos.

Staff factored in her fish-thieving habits during feeding and her loud wails at nap time to crown her the naughtiest seal in the sanctuary.

Cornish Seal Sanctuary said: ‘From turning sun shades into hammocks (way too many times to count) to stealing fish like a pro, and serenading her pool mates with howls during nap time.

‘Aayla keeps the sanctuary on its toes, and we wouldn’t have her any other way!’

In the true spirit of Christmas, the sanctuary also named its Resident of the Month, which went to their largest resident named Logs.

A top-down shot of an outstretched seal
Resident of the Month goes to Logs, who happens to be the largest seal at the sanctuary weighing 255kg (Picture: Cornish Seal Sanctuary)

He weighs 255kg, which the sanctuary said roughly equates to two reindeer, but staff said he may need to start dieting come the new year.

‘To help keep him happy and healthy, the team have him on a little diet at the moment,’ they said.

‘But don’t let his size fool you, beneath that stubborn, grumpy exterior is a total teddy bear… most of the time.’

Cornish Seal Sanctuary has taken in several seal pups this year, with many of the animals being named after desserts or sweet treats.

Residents include S’Mores, Meringue, Waffle, Custard and Angel Delight.

The sanctuary opened in 1975 and celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

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