Seal’s victim has second op

An 85-year-old man attacked by a seal on a New Plymouth coastal walkway had a second operation yesterday.

A Taranaki Base Hospital spokesperson said last night that Arthur Lester was comfortable and in a stable condition.

Mr Lester was walking on the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway near the Belt Road Motor Camp on Saturday morning when a large male seal attacked him. He was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital, where he was operated on.

Mr Lester’s son, Greg, said: “The first operation on Saturday was just to clean it, and this time it’s a bit more exploratory because the swelling would have gone down, a bit of draining. He’ll have at least another two operations.”

Greg Lester said his father had lost a lot of skin on his calf muscle. “It’s about how it heals and how the skin grows. An 85-year-old has pretty soft skin. But he’s faring pretty well.” Arthur Lester’s other son, Phil, was travelling from overseas to be with his father.

Darryn Ratana, a New Plymouth Department of Conservation partnership manager, said the seal was still on an isolated beach yesterday morning.

“We have a cordon around him and we are still monitoring him . . . He seems pretty calm and as long as people stay away from him, he’s not a danger.”

Mr Ratana hoped the seal would swim out to sea when the high tide came in.

He said DoC staff had visited Arthur Lester. “He was stable and we hope he has a speedy recovery.’

The seal was a young male between 100kg and 150kg, Mr Ratana said.

“They can be quite aggressive. He’s alone. They’re wild animals, so people should always be wary of them.”

Putting the seal down would be a “last resort” and only an option if there was an imminent threat to public safety.