‘Sickly’ seal pup relocated
A small ‘‘emaciated’’ seal pup at Nelson’s Tahunanui Beach was moved by a conservation worker following complaints it had been harassed by onlookers.
Nelson man Nick Lane said he noticed the seal and people crowding around it on the beach near Rocks Rd about 10am on Saturday. When he returned later he said the pup looked ‘‘a little sickly and worse for wear’’.
‘‘I saw a person try to grab it by the tail and drag it back into the water,’’ Lane said.
‘‘Then I saw on the Nelson Snippets page people had been poking it, it was horrible.’’
Despite calling the Department of Conservation (DOC) over concerns about the seal pup, Lane said he was disappointed it took several phone calls and six hours before anyone showed up to check it out.
‘‘I just wanted someone to come have a look and see if he was OK.’’
About 4pm, a DOC ranger came to collect the seal, which Lane said didn’t put up a fight and appeared to be lifeless.
A photo posted to the Nelson Snippets Facebook page alleged a Nelmac staff member and other members of the public had prodded and kicked the seal.
Nelmac green spaces divisional manager Mike Orchard said he had spoken to the staff member in the photo posted on Facebook.
The staff member was collecting rubbish when he was flagged down by two members of the public who asked what they could do for the seal. Orchard said the man then used his litter tongs to guide the pup towards the ocean.
‘‘He at no stage attacked or prodded it and confirmed he only acted with good intentions.’’
Nelmac abide by DOC’s ‘‘hands off’’ policy, however Hughes said the staff member knew stranded seal pups had been harassed and bitten by dogs. Given that Tahunanui Beach was a highly utilised area, he attempted to assist the pup back to the water.
‘‘Nelmac totally reject any accusations that the seal pup was attacked and take our role in our community and environment very seriously and always act with the best of intentions.’’
DOC spokeswoman Trish Grant said it received a call about the seal pup around 3pm on Saturday.
The caller was concerned the seal was being disturbed by people and said it had been poked with a stick. Grant said a ranger went to the beach to see if the pup was alive and found it looked emaciated.
The pup was moved from the beach for its wellbeing and taken to the Waimea estuary, near Rabbit Island. Grant said it was not unusual for seal pups to be on Tahunanui Beach around this time of year.
Fur seal pups often turned up on beaches and other coastal areas between August and November as they were being weaned from their mothers. Seal pups could appear skinny because they were still learning to feed themselves.
‘‘In most cases seals are just resting and usually there is no need for human intervention. The seals should be left alone undisturbed. Most will return to the water and swim away when they are ready to go.’’
DOC had a ‘‘hands off’’ policy with seals and would only intervene if a seal was severely injured, entangled in marine debris or was in danger.