What do you do if you come across a seal pup or young seal lying apparently stranded on the beach? The answer it seems is to leave well alone and do nothing. That is the advice one holidaymaker received recently. In a letter to the Tiree newsletter, she wrote:
“While walking along the beach at Caoles, i met 2 holidaymakers standing looking concerned at a young seal which was lying on it’s back on an outcrop of rocks. They didnt know what to do, and being a townie more at home in Partick or the Botanical gardens, neither did i. I phoned several people on the island and their advice was the same “Leave it alone and it’s mum will come back for it. Don’t touch the pup. It may bite you and worse, its mother wont go near if is she smells your scent on her offspring. A few days later a high tide covered the rocks and Sammy the seal was gone. She, or he, was frolicking in the water near the shoreline with 2 fully grown seals, obviously parents. So, if anybody is unsure in future about what to do in a similar situation, they can take a lesson from this experience.
Yours, The happy Caoles beachcomber”
