Happy ending for grey seal in a tangle
ENTANGLED in netting and with distress visible in its eyes, this huge grey seal found itself trapped on the beach.
It took six people to untangle the 880lb bull seal, which was spotted on the sand at Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire, with a fishing net cutting through its blubber.
The Scottish SPCA was alerted and three officers managed to lift the massive animal and transport it to the charity’s centre inland. Once there it took another three people to finally cut it free.
Chief Inspector John Carle said: ‘The amount of netting tangled around the seal’s neck was the larg-
‘It took three of us to lift him’
est I have ever seen. He was so large and heavy it took three of our officers to lift him and take him to our centre in Drumoak, where we cut the net away.
‘If he hadn’t been discovered and freed, the net would eventually have cut through his skin, which could have resulted in septicaemia or other infections. Thankfully there were no injuries in this case and we were able to release him relatively quickly.’
After the netting was removed, the team managed to haul the seal back into the sea.
Mr Carle said: ‘It was a lovely moment watching the seal heading back into the water. This was a very happy ending and we’re so glad we were able to help.’