Common seal in New Quay, 2018

Description

Laura Evans is the Living Seas Wales Project Officer for the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. On the 30th of May 2018 Laura, along with two CBMWC Seasonal Volunteers, was called out to monitor a seal exhibiting unusual behaviour on Traeth Gwyn Beach. Recollection as follows: “On 30th May 2018 a member of the public came into the CBMWC visitor centre after spotting a distressed seal on Traeth Gwyn beach. Seals do spend time resting on the shore but because Traeth Gwyn is a busy beach where many people walk their dogs I decided to head out onto the beach to make sure the seal wasn’t being disturbed. Myself and two seasonal volunteers (Jason Burk and Yasmin Wright) quickly hurried along the beach in search of the seal which we assumed was an Atlantic grey seal … but we were wrong! After rushing across the beach we eventually found the seal which was surrounded by a group of people. We asked people to move back and then realised it was in fact a young common seal, not an Atlantic grey seal which we had previously assumed. Common seals aren’t typically found in Wales so we knew it was in trouble. After contacting British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and speaking to colleagues we decided to remove the seal from the beach. Two local volunteers, Chris and Karen brought a spare dog cage for us to carry seal in and with help from a BDMLR volunteer we were able to safely put the seal into the cage and carry it from the beach. It was hoped that the seal could be transported to a rescue facility where it could be rehabilitated however after speaking to a vet over the phone it become apparent that the seal was very unwell. Based on our descriptions and videos we sent, the vet suspected the seal had lungworm and was in too poor a condition to survive. We then worked with BDMLR to transport the seal to a local vet where it could be put down. A very sad ending to the day!” You can learn more about the work of Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre here - https://www.welshwildlife.org/visitor-centres/cardigan-bay-marine-wildlife-centre/.