Seal pup found tangled in rope and netting rescued on New Year's Day
The little pup was released back into the wild on the Cornish coast
Last updated 4th Jan 2022
A little seal pup has been rescued after it was found tangled in rope and netting on a Cornish beach.
The discovery was made by members of the public at Boat Cove, Pendeen, on New Year's Day.
British Divers Marine Life Rescue rushed to help and managed to cut plastic away from her neck and flippers in an hour-long mission.
Luckily the pup was not injured and didn't need any rehabilitation and so was able to be released back into the wild.
You can watch the video of that moment below...
Friends of Portheras Cove posted on Facebook: "New Year’s Day rescue at Boat Cove – a young seal pup was found entangled in rope and gill netting by members of the public who thankfully realised the seriousness of the situation and called the experts British Divers Marine Life Rescue for help.
"The marine medics acted swiftly and after about an hour- long operation to carefully restrain and contain the pup they were able to safely cut the plastics from around her neck and flippers. Having assessed her for any injuries it was decided she was fit and strong enough to be released back into the sea …. a super happy ending!
"Massive thanks go to the BDMLR medics and to Eleanor & Brian who assisted the medics during the exercise and to all the bystanders who kept their distance and gave the pup the best chance. BDMLR is a wonderful charitable organisation who work tirelessly to rescue, assess, treat marine animals in distress."
A spokesperson for British Divers Marine Life Rescue told us: "We think possibly the same animal was reported to us further along the coast near the village of Porthmeor, west of Zennor, on New Year's Eve, but when we arrived it had gone already.
"The next day it turned up at Pendeen and our team of volunteer Marine Mammal Medics were able to get there and rescue it this time.
"Luckily it was not injured and was still quite a large healthy size, so this likely happened to it very recently. This meant we were able to release it again immediately without the need for further treatment or care in rehabilitation."