An injured long-nosed fur seal pup has been relocated from a popular dog walking beach at South West Rocks to a quieter location.
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The seal has been spotted for the past week on Main Beach. In recent days, the pup has been timid; heading back to the safety of the water whenever people walking their dogs came too close for comfort.
This morning (Wednesday August 10) it was seen sun-baking on the sand for over three hours - stretched out and showing off a wound on its side.
A spokesperson from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said the injury is believed to have been caused by a cookiecutter shark.
"Cookiecutter sharks are very small and they feed by coming up to the surface and taking a small bite of blubber from whales and seals," they said.
"These bites leave a distinctive circular bite, but they usually heal quickly and leave no lasting issues for the seal or whale."
Volunteers from the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans (ORRCA), the NPWS and Dolphin Marine Conservation Park in Coffs Harbour were all contacted by concerned members of the community.
The NPWS said the seal's behaviour is called "hauling out", which is a natural activity for seals.
"They come ashore to rest, digest and recover and, in most cases, will leave of their own accord. It is important to give them space and to limit disturbance".
'In good condition'
Photos of the wounded seal were sent through to experts at the Dolphin Marine Conservation Park who believed the seal to be in good health and not needing to be brought in for rehabilitation.
The Macleay Argus spoke to Kieran Marshall, Operation Manager at Dolphin Marine Rescue (the charity arm of the Conservation Park), who explained that the Mid North Coast is visited by long-nose fur seals every year during winter.
"There have been a fair few spotted recently up and down the coast, which we are monitoring along with ORRCA and National Parks," he said.
"They do get those wounds on them, which are caused by cookiecutter sharks. They heal pretty well, and looking at that particular wound, I wouldn't worry too much about it."
Mr Marshall consulted other veterinarians who agreed the seal looked to be in "good condition" and simply needed to be monitored.
The size of the pup concerned members of the public who were left wondering where mum was, and if the seal had enough food.
"They are coming off their wean stages from milk to hunting, and are out exploring the world. At this stage they are able to fish and fend for themselves," Mr Marshall said.
While the seal is likely to make a full recovery without human intervention, there were concerns for its chosen location.
"The issue with this one at South West Rocks was that it was on a dog beach, and dogs are known to be intrigued by a new smell, and so National Parks did the right thing by relocating the seal for the safety of the animal," Mr Marshall said.
Relocated
The NPWS arrived at the beach just after 10am.
Traffic cones and signs were placed around the seal to make those walking dogs aware of the injured animal.
Field Officer, Mike Saunders, who has dealt with long-nosed fur seals in the past - catching, tagging and releasing 2500 of them with the CSIRO on Kangaroo Island in 2001 - successfully relocated the seal from Main Beach to Little Bay.
But not before the pup took a dip in the ocean to cool off.
What can the community do?
"The thing we believe is best for the animal, is to leave them and just monitor to them", Mr Marshall said.
Members of the public are asked to respect the approach distance of 40m, refrain from intervening, and call NPWS if they are concerned for the wellbeing of an animal.
"Seals do have diseases that can be transferred to humans," Mr Marshall added.
"We ask that people do not feed the seal as we need them to learn to catch fish themselves rather than looking to fishermen for their meals".
If the animal is in need of further care, Dolphin Marine Rescue can be contacted. They recently released a rehabilitated seal from Red Cliff.
A spokesperson for NPWS added "people are reminded to stay well clear of hauled out seals. Seals are wild animals that could cause injury if approached or harassed and disturbed".
