A little gray seal got a serious cut on his neck after he got tangled up in a fishing net on a Cornwall beach. Thankfully, seal researchers Sue Sayer and Kate Hockey spotted the seal. They called in reinforcements from the group Cornish Wildlife, and they were able to help the little seal before he got hurt even worse!
To reach the seal, the rescue team had to abseil down a steep cliff.
Once they got to the cove where the seal was laying, they carefully moved towards him. Dan Jarvis, a volunteer for Cornish Wildlife, told the Daily Mail:
“We had to move quickly and quietly so as not to spook the seals and send them scurrying back into the sea. Happily we managed it and Sue, Tamara and myself were able to circle round and sneak up close enough to make a final dash and restrain the seal.”
The rescuers wrapped the seal in a towel to keep him from running away or biting them. Then, they cut the netting out of the wound. Cornish Wildlife volunteer Tamara Cooper described the procedure to the Daily Mail:
“It struggled a lot at first, but by straddling its back and covering its head with a towel I was able to quiet it down while Dan and Sue carefully cut away the netting. The wound was very deep, especially across the back of its neck, but now the line has been removed the saltwater should keep it clean and we are confident it will heal.”
After they cleaned the wound, the rescuers let the seal go. He quickly scurried into the ocean to join the rest of his herd. Thanks to the rescuers’ work, the seal looked happy and healthy.
This story shows how important it is to properly dispose of fishing nets.
In the last 18 years, the Cornish Seal Group Research has recorded 300 net-entangled seals. If fishermen properly dispose of their nets, they can save many seals from getting injured.
The rescuers from Cornish Wildlife did an amazing job helping this little seal and tending to his wound. Watch the whole daring rescue in the video below!
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