Dales tripper: Seal swam 100 miles inland for fish supper

HOW far would you go for a fish supper? Probably not as far as one determined seal, which swam 100 miles through Britain’s river network from the North Sea to the Yorkshire Dales.

Walkers were stunned to see a large grey male seal near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, at a spot near Topcliffe Weir.

Its picture was taken by Karen Hargreave, who said she had never seen anything like it before.

The amateur photographer said: “Some friends went for a walk and saw something large in the river. On closer inspection they realised it was a seal and as I am interested in wildlife they messaged me.

“Apparently the seal had turned up last Thursday morning. Locals from the mill spoke to various experts, some I think may have visited the site and confirmed it was a large healthy male. It had probably swum up from the Humber estuary following salmon.”

The seal was also spotted by Tony Wilson, 48, out walking, who said: “It looked so bizarre. At first I thought it was a sheep but as I got closer I saw it was a great big grey seal. I couldn’t figure out how it had arrived there but speaking to people in the village later, it seems it’d swum all the way from the sea up the river.”

Seals usually prefer a saltwater environment, as this is where most of the fish they can eat are found, but can also swim in fresh water, and do this when they chase their food sources up rivers.

Anthony Hurd, manager of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas in Flamborough, said it was not rare for seals to travel upstream in search of food, but that it is “surprising” the animal was spotted so far inland.

It is thought by the trust that the animal became lost while on its journey to catch fish. The seal is thought to have swum through York on its way to the Dales.

Bex Lynam, the trust’s North Sea Marine Advocacy Officer, told The Daily Telegraph: “Seals are known to use a number of the UK’S rivers and on occasions will swim upriver for quite some distance. It’s thought that they are simply following their food source, which would include salmon or sea trout making their way up the river at particular times of the year. “They may then become disorientated, especially younger seals, which is why they have been reported found in fields and similar unusual locations, having hauled themselves out of the river and on to dry land.”

Alan Kwan, the head curator at Sea Life Manchester, said: “There’s no such thing as a free dinner, even in the animal world. It’s likely the seal hankered after a particularly dishy fish – so much so that the seal gave chase for 50 miles. Seals are incredible animals, the transition from sea to freshwater wouldn’t have bothered him at all. Seals found this distance from the sea should be monitored but unless it is in danger or looks injured, it will likely find its way home eventually.”

Alarge seal was spotted this week in a field near the River Swale in North Yorkshire, 50 miles from the sea. It certainly surprised walkers who stumbled upon it. Yet seals possess an affinity with inland Yorkshire, often swimming up the Ouse in pursuit of fish. Perhaps none travelled in more ease than the pet seal that Henry Moat, the valet to Edith Sitwell’s father, once brought over from Whitby by train to Renishaw Hall. It would have enjoyed the lakes in the park there. Any visit by a seal brings home the reality of Great Britain being an island. Though it is impossible anywhere to be much more than 70 miles from salt water, the country can seem very much terra firma. George III was said not to have seen the sea until he was 34. Yet for a trading nation, as for a seal, insularity means the blessing of the ever-nearby sea.