Seal pup rescued (From The Northern Echo)

Seal pup rescued

12:14am Saturday 20th March 2010 in

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A SEAL pup has been rescued after becoming trapped beneath large boulders making up the river defences near Sunderland Yacht Club.

Three volunteers from Sunderland RNLI and one from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) joined forces to launch the rescue mission shortly after 4.30pm yesterday afternoon.

Clive Fallon, a Helmsman at Sunderland RNLI spotted the young seal fall between the large boulders when trying to escape from two members of the public who had approached it in on the rocks.

He said “After looking at the position of the seal, I immediately realised that it needed help to get free from below the rock armours.

"After speaking to an advisor at BDMLR, I was advised to remain with the seal and await the arrival of one of their volunteer marine mammal medics.”

Shortly after 5pm Clive was joined at the scene by Becky Ferry, a volunteer BDMLR marine mammal medic from Plains Farm, Sunderland and two RNLI colleagues, Paul Nicholson, and Anthony Jobling.

After almost an hour they managed to attach a line around the seal and pull it clear from beneath the rocks.

Clive added “Our volunteers worked alongside Becky who used her specialist marine mammal training to ensure we did not scare or hurt the young seal pup during the rescue.

"Unfortunately in this case, the members of the public who initially approached the seal scared it causing it to fall between the boulders and become trapped.”

The (BDMLR)issues the following guidelines to the public if they discover a seal which they are concerned about.

* If you find a live seal watch it from a distance * Do not approach the animal. Seals regularly haul out on our coasts - it is part of their normal behaviour. Therefore, finding a seal on the beach does not mean there is necessarily a problem.

* A healthy seal should be left well alone.

* If you see a seal that may be abandoned, thin or ill, then call for advice and assistance on the BDMLR hotline 01825 765546 or RSPCA hotline 0300 1234 999.