Hello Steve, Thank you for the information; it is very interesting and I shall also pass it onto my work colleague.
The seal was not handled to stop it reaching the sea, it was picked up and thrown into the shade of the groyne possibly to keep it out of the sun. It might have been less stressful to use an umbrella or piece of tarpaulin. The result is what counts and it is such good news that the pup is being cared for at Mallydams; we are so lucky to have such a centre in Sussex. Best regards, Richard. P.S. If you contact via my email address I can pass you on the phone number or email address of the witness if you need to communicate with her. -----Original Message----- From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of Steve Sent: 14 August 2011 13:48 To: adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk Subject: Re: [Adastra] Injured common seal pup, Hove Beach Hello Richard Many thanks for this information. It is difficult for me to comment as I did not attend this rescue as I was not local on the day. I got a call from BDWLR who at that time said that all was in hand and they would provide an update. My report is based on the BDMLR medic who arrived after the East Sussex Wildlife rescue ambulance. This I guess is based on what she was told on arrival. I have attended strandings with staff from the wildlife rescue ambulance before but on these occasions they were dead strandings, although I know they have attended live seals before. Maybe this depends on who attends on the day as of course they rescue a wide range of (mainly terrestrial) wildlife and my impression in the past is that they seem to be very professional and do a good job. That said, I am very concerned about the way the person was described to man handle the seal, especially a pup. I don't know how close the seal was to the sea when the person grabbed the seal (presumably by its hind flippers - the tail is only a few inches long) and swung it up the beach. Had the seal almost reached the water and the person was grabbing it to stop it going in? Even so I would not advocate grabbing an injured seal (which I am guessing the extents of its injuries were not known at that time) in this way and swinging it up the beach. Also, stress is of course the biggest killer of any injured animal! For a seal, adult or young, sea is safety and they will always try to make their way to water. In the rescues I have been able to attend I have come at the seal from the water edge which usually results in the seal shuffling up the beach where it can be rescued if necessary. Even when I have been on my own (and rising tide meaning quick action was needed) I have then used a blanket to restrain the animal, temporarily covering its head which calms it down. Then carefully rolling the blanket around the seal to restrain it and restrict its head movement - they can reach back as far as their tail and their bite is said to be as powerful as a bear. When the medic arrived the seal was again in the water - maybe after the event you mention. The seal was later located when it came ashore and taken to malladams, I think the ambulance was used to transport the seal. It was reported to me as being a joint rescue. My impression in general is that sometimes animals are handled in a way that seems 'cruel' but necessary at that time for the overall good of that animal. If that was or was not the case here I cannot really comment as I did not see it, but from the description it does seem to indicate at best a lack of judgment. Generally juvenile seals I have attended are suffering from pneumonia and emaciated rather than having physical injuries. Seal pups are weaned after 4-6 weeks and the left to fend for themselves living off their fat reserves until they get the hang of feeding themselves. This is a vulnerable stage and older juvenile seals are more commonly stranded on Sussex beaches. I will certainly be passing on this information. All the best Steve -----Original Message----- From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of adastra-requ...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk Sent: 14 August 2011 12:00 To: adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk Subject: Adastra Digest, Vol 63, Issue 9 Send Adastra mailing list submissions to adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.sxbrc.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/adastra_lists.sxbrc.org.uk or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to adastra-requ...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk You can reach the person managing the list at adastra-ow...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Adastra digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Injured common seal pup, Hove Beach (Richard Price) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2011 19:03:10 +0100 From: "Richard Price" <freerich...@btinternet.com> To: "'Adastra discussion group'" <adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk> Subject: Re: [Adastra] Injured common seal pup, Hove Beach Message-ID: <002501cc59e3$436a25e0$ca3e71a0$@com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Dear Stephen, I knew about this last week as a lady that I work with mentioned how upset she was by what she saw. I was able to forward this message to her, she was delighted with the result as she thought it had been killed. The Brighton and Hove Seafront staff were excellent and even provided an inflatable boat to assist. One turned up on a quad bike and was on the seafront protecting the seal from the crowds. It all seemed under control until a man with a green van turned up. She watched the "rescue. He picked the seal pup up by its tail before swinging it so that it landed in the shade of the groyne. This resulted in the terrified animal escaping back into the sea. Most likely, it was later retrieved by a normal (non Sussex Wildlife Rescue) person and taken into Mallydams, probably exhausted and close to death. I asked her if the man with the van was a medic, she replied that, in her opinion he did not behave in a very medical and caring way. When you say joint rescue you probably mean that later a medic turned up for the second rescue. All the best, Richard. From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of Steve Sent: 10 August 2011 17:29 To: adastra@lists.sxbrc.org.uk Subject: [Adastra] Injured common seal pup, Hove Beach Sorry for the delay in posting this message A seal was beached on Hove Beach (East Sussex) on Sunday, July 31st. The seal turned out to be a common seal pup less than a month old with serious injuries to its face and head, including a bad gash beside the left eye. A joint rescue took place by the wildlife rescue ambulance and BDMLR medic. At 4:45pm, the pup was on the beach near Hove Lagoon, before the seal went back into the sea. The seal was relocated again later when it came back ashore and was taken to the RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre Mallydams Woods in Hastings were he is currently receiving care. The pup was reported as being repeatedly sighted from about 3:00pm at different areas along Hove Beach throughout the day until we picked him up at about 7:30pm. This is also interesting as there are no know seal breeding groups in Sussex, even the resident seals in Chichester (West Sussex) have not been recorded as breeding. It does make you wonder where the pup came from as it is so young. Even with currents etc, I can't imagine that it was born too far away. I wonder if there is a mother around somewhere. We have been recording a seal in the area for the last few weeks. Common seal mothers only feed their young for 4-6 weeks before they are weaned, leaving them to fend for themselves. This seal did look quite thin rather than the large fat reserves a pup should have when weaned. Maybe it became separated too early and been on its own for sometime! More information about Sussex Seals and other marine life can be seen on my weblog http://sussexmarinejottings.blogspot.com/ Stephen Savage Sussex County Recorder for Sea Mammals Sea Watch Foundation Regional Coordinator -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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