Medics called to stranded seals at Ramsgate and Minnis Bay

British Diver Marine Life Rescue medics were incredibly busy yesterday (March 14) with welfare calls to check two seals in separate incidents in Ramsgate and in Minnis Bay.

The first call happened at 7.29 am for a check at Ramsgate beach. Two medics went to the scene and found it was the same male seal who had stranded itself the day before, at Dumpton Gap. They knew this because he had been marked with blue spray.

As the tide came in the seal, weighing around 60kg, moved further up the beach until it was able to strand itself above the tide line under the shelter on the beach.

With the assistance of the police, the medics cordoned off the beach to allow the seal to rest undisturbed. A team was put together and the seal was monitored throughout the day until it returned to the water just after 6 pm.

Later the same afternoon, another call was put out for a stranded seal at Minnis Bay. The two medics left Ramsgate to attend. They joined two others at the scene who found a pup stranded on the rocks. The seal was moved carefully off the rocks and bagged and weighed. This seal was a male grey pup weighing in at 30 kgs. Thankfully He had no injuries so was released and made his way back to the sea.

British Divers Marine Life Rescue has had nearly 50 call-outs since October.

Medic Sheila Stone said: “This does not mean that we have poorly seals, more the opposite. Our seal colonies are very healthy and their populations are increasing.

“We have a similar percentage of rescues every year, but because the population has grown, this means the number of strandings have increased. With the raised awareness in the area and the social media presence, we are receiving more and more calls.

“BDMLR would like to thank the public for their continued support and be assured that we will try and attend all call-outs. All medics who attend to the animals are volunteers.”

If you would like further information on the work BDMLR do please visit their website