Along the coast of England and Wales, wild seals can often be spotted emerging from the waves of their ocean home.
There are lots of reasons a seal might “haul out” onto the sand. According to The Marine Mammal Center, a seal on land could be resting, avoiding predators, regulating their body temperature, molting or preparing to give birth.
Recently, one such seal decided to take a nap at the beach. He lumbered up the sand, climbed into a pile of debris and quickly fell asleep. What the seal didn’t realize as he snoozed among the rope and netting was that he’d passed out in a very dangerous spot.
Luckily, a sharp-eyed Good Samaritan soon walked by. The beachgoer glanced at the pile, squinted and managed to spot the seal nestled in the center.
Unsure
what to do, the Good Samaritan contacted experts at British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), who sent animal medics to the scene.
BDMLR team members were glad the passerby did the right thing by calling for help, especially given how common incidents like this one have become.
“Debris like this can easily become life-threatening entanglements for curious seals,” BDMLR wrote in a Facebook post. “Sadly, the number of entanglements reported to BDMLR is on the rise.”
Medics kept a careful distance from the seal, monitoring him to see if he might return to the ocean without human intervention. Thankfully, the seal did just that — after his peaceful nap, he navigated through the trash without issue and swam back into the waves.
Once the seal was gone, rescuers removed the debris to prevent future entanglements.
Thanks to this Good Samaritan’s quick thinking and the expertise of BDMLR medics, seals on this beach can nap in peace, out of harm’s way.
