On Thursday, last week, reports came in from a member of the public that there was a seal pup on the beach along Hamm Common. When we went over to check, a group of people were watching the pup whilst making sure that no walkers or dogs went to close. The seal was resting quite high up on the beach, seeming not to care about the crowd it was beginning to draw.
Weymouth Sealife and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) were contacted and individuals from both organisations attended. It was decided that, as the seal looked very underweight and that any parent would likely not attend because of the popularity of the beach with water sports and walkers, the pup would be caught and handed to the RSPCA for rehabilitation.
Hopefully it won’t be long before it can be released back in to the wild.
If you see any injured wildlife on or around the reserve:
- Please contact the reserve team.
- Do not put your self or the animal at risk.
- If the animal is not in any immediate danger and you are able to do so, keep a distance but continue to monitor the situation. If it is a young animal then the parent may be waiting nearby.
- Please ask people to avoid walking near to the animal and ensure dogs keep clear.