When marine mammal rescuer Lionel Taylor got a call early last Sunday about a stranded seal near Boknes, he rushed to the spot. A video shared on our Facebook page shows what happened next (watch it HERE). In a phone call afterwards, Lionel described how they’d freed it.
“We got a call early on Sunday morning about a seal with a plastic bag around it,” Lionel said. “When we got to the spot between Boknes and Diaz Cross, it was lying exhausted in the shallows.”
To their dismay – but as often happens – it went back into the sea when it saw them.
“So we waited,” Lionel said.
Eventually it returned to the shallows and Lionel quickly caught it with the special net he keeps for the purpose.
Martin Muller, who had raised the alarm, then cut off the plastic before Lionel opened the net again and the relieved creature – a Cape fur seal, “probably a yearling” – lolopped back into the ocean. The video shows it first hesitantly, then delightedly, diving through the waves.
Lionel Taylor is the authorised Bayworld agent for the area and works under the guidance of Dr Greg Hofmeyr (Curator: Marine Mammals Bayworld). He has had special training in how to handle and manage stranded marine animals.
What to do if you find a stranded seal (or other marine animal):
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Don’t approach the animal because you will likely chase it back into the sea. Whatever caused them to come to the shore has exhausted them and by chasing them back into the sea, you could be (unintentionally) killing them. All seals are protected under the Seabirds & Seals Protection Act of 1973 & it is an offence to disturb them.
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On no account allow your dogs to approach it (you should anyway have them on a leash).
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Call marine animal rescue coordinator Verona Veltman at 083 654 9976 or Ndlambe Municipality’s animal control officer Anel Slabbert at 060-983-5549.
