Last week, Katie, Sue and Myself took a walk up to Hope Point and continued round to the North as far as Sooty Bluff. The evening was calm and sunny, and the point is a great place to sit amongst the wildlife and chill out after a hard day. On our way however, we came across this Fur Seal which had been banded quite some time ago and was in a lot of discomfort. The line is a small piece of Trawl Net, most likely from one of the wrecked fishing vessels at the Morraine Fjord entrance. Fur Seals have a tendency to swim through things rather than around them, and this includes things like rope, packing bands, and trawl net fragments. It is likely she got tangled when she was a bit younger and she has since grown painfully in to the net. The seals have no way of removing the line once they are banded and in the case of this seal, it is likely to have resulted in death from the ever open wounds the line creates. It was encouraging to see she was in otherwise good condition, and a quick VHF call to Alastair saw him arrive within minutes with the necessary equipment to free her. We are hopeful that she will make a full recovery once the slightly infected wound heals.
 |
| The Seal as we found her. She was weak and and tired. |
 |
| Alastair the minute he cut the line free |
 |
| We hope her wounds will heal and she will be fine. |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment. I will be sure to reply to any questions you have!