A seal has been spotted in Swansea Marina. Passers-by saw the grey seal close to the Trafalgar Bridge in SA1 on Sunday morning. The seal could be seen poking its head out of the water, wearily looking at the onlookers, before disappearing back into the marina.
Whilst grey seals are spotted quite regularly on the Welsh coast, they tend to be seen more regularly in Pembrokeshire, as there are reported large colonies near Ramsey Island. It's estimated that there are now more than 120,000 grey seals in Britain, representing 40% of the world's population and 95% of the European population.
Whilst such a sight in Swansea is rare, the public are being urged to leave the seal alone. This is because the seal may become reliant on human interaction. You can read more Swansea stories here.
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A spokesperson for Gower Seal Group said "It's a North Atlantic Grey Seal. Unfortunately, this seal should not be in a Marina environment as its a wild seal. Seals can become habituated especially interacting with humans who feed them and this is why this animal is in that location.
"This increases the chances of being struck by a propeller and ingesting light diesel oil that floats on the surface where boats operate. This will eventually cause a huge amount of problems. Seals as I said, are wild and we do not encourage any human interaction which may change their natural behaviour. It's not in a good environment.
"The best way to discourage their behaviour is not to feed or interact with it. It will need to feed and will leave to forage for itself. The seal is too big to capture and relocate so capturing it is totally out of the question. At Gower Seal Group we actively discourage habituating seals so raising awareness is the only solution until it leaves."
This is not the first time a grey seal has made its way into the marina. In 2020, there were two confirmed sightings, with one seal making a break for it up the marina steps.
At the time, a Natural Resources Wales spokesperson told WalesOnline: ""They spend time around the entrance to the Tawe and can pass over the barrage easily at high tide and return to the sea the same way or via the fish pass. "They happily move between the Tawe impoundment and the sea."
Whilst this seal may be safe in the marina, there is a larger problem facing the mammal. Recently, seals have been found injured or dead due to discarded flying rings left on the beach.
Gower Seal Group are campaigning for the sale of the flying rings to be banned, due to seals getting stuck in them. They said: "Seals are such wonderfully curious creatures and love to explore and play. Unfortunately, this can lead to pain, suffering and misery when they encounter the many discarded flying rings left on beaches. They swim round and through these rings until it's too late and they are trapped. Gower Seal Group are supporting a national campaign to ban the sale of these objects."
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