Seal Found in Field Miles from Coast

a reply to: Kandinsky

This is very weird-I just saw it on the news,and thought maybe it had escaped from a nearby seaworld or similar animal park/zoo.
Thing is there isn't a zoo or animal park in that area,and like others have said theres no way it navigated acroos land to end up where it was found.
To transport such a creature would take some heavy lifting gear,and a big truck at the very least.
Maybe scallies pinched a car lifting truck and moved the seal,but I doubt it.
Maybe it was an illegal pet that escaped from a nearby large garden pond?

Failing that,it was abducted by aliens,and put back in the wrong place..

abduction?

im actually surprised that the seal was still alive and they were able to save it's life.

i'm wondering what the scene around the animal is like? a professional tracker should be able to determine what happened to the animal based on surrounding evidence.

were there any tracks surrounding the seal? whether animal or human ect?

were there any signs of a struggle or drag marks, vehicle tracks?

was there weather in the area during the previous night that may have been able to lift and transport the animal?

this all just seems very strange. i really couldn't see someone catching that enormous seal and then transporting it 17 miles inland just to leave it in some random place for someone else to find. strange indeed... and the article doesn't really illuminate the incident very well at all...

a reply to: Kandinsky
From the link,

The 5ft (1.2m) long male suffered a head injury and had discharge from his nose, the RSPCA said

Im guessing that some drunken shenanigans were afoot.
Bash the seal on the head to knock it out, get him into the back of a van and dump him in a field miles away.
Sounds like the most plausible explanation to me thusfar...

a reply to: Kandinsky

It may have escaped from a private collection... I used to work with a falconer who had a fairly impressive menagerie and was given a beaver by a zoo.

The thing managed to burrow out after a few weeks and is no doubt now confusing walkers and boaters in the Bridgenorth area!

I'm not an animal biologist...but I probably would somehow try to examine the contents of its stomach to find out what it has been eating recently...that just may answer a few unanswered question....weird indeed .

Reminds me of the whale they found inland 1/2 mile from the sea back in 2011.

Whale found inland

-MM

Someone said the canal had locks.

Was this a shipping canal with barges going up it.

Seals are known for hauling out and basking on boats and barges.

Did a boater or barge tug think it a fun idea to leave a seal on a boat or barge and run it up the canal till the seal got tired of the ride and went for a swim.

I know at least one case where a seal rode a barge to the city of Stockton in the central valley of calif 70 miles from the coast

originally posted by: Grovit
a reply to: Indigent

he would have to be pretty wasted to wander 17 miles from the water to pass out

Priceless...LMAO!

Pissed up hoodies thought they could flog it to a marine sanctuary or something.

Come on lads...some rich tart will pay a bleeding - hic - fortune for this lil baby...get it in the mota before someone see us.

er...kind of thing.

Turns out the seal appears to have arrived via the 'Sankey Brook;' apparently there were some tracks that came from there. For the non-Brits out there, 'Sankey Brook' is a nick-name for the canal I mentioned earlier in the thread.

Once fully recovered it is hoped to release the seal back into its natural habitat.

Experts believe the seal may have arrived at the site via Sankey Brook. The rescue operation took four hours in total.

Experts believe the seal may have arrived at the site via Sankey Brook. "You can see where he has come up from the brook but we have got no idea which direction he has come from."

St Helens news link




It remains a baffling incident because the canal system uses 'locks' to go up and down hills. From the coast to Newton Le Willows would involve six sets of locks. This is what the average locks look like:



It seems an unlikely idea that our wandering friend climbed out of each lock, shuffled down the canal tow-path and splashed back in to the canal. I'm looking forward to the explanation!

a reply to: Kandinsky

Obviously he was prepared and brought a windlass with him. Simples.

a reply to: skalla

I've swam in the canal many times when younger...skinnydipped whilst pissed too. If I'd seen a seal's head in the water, logic would have told me it was a James Herbert-style apocalypse rat.

a reply to: Kandinsky

Aye there are plenty by me, and falling in the canal whilst bladdered is a vital right of passage

The natives in this part of the world have a supposedly mythical creature as part of their folklore nationwide and they call it the 'bunyip'. There is a popular modern concensus that the basis of the story is that a seal will, on very rare occasions, find its way far upstream while chasing prey and end up stranded in a waterhole if the river level falls too quickly for it to escape downstream again leaving a large hungry agitated animal miles inland.

So, what we have here could be yet another bunyip but without an Australian accent for a change

This is one of those situations when you don't want the truth to get in the way of a good story. I'm just trying to come up with the story.

Well this thread brought all the Scousers and Woollybacks out of the woodwork.

I'm guessing the animal got past the locks by following a boat.

And what a waste of Police resources! Why on earth would it take that many police to secure a seal?

And before anyone starts, Calm down calm down !

a reply to: FawnyKate

An angry agitated seal is not to be messed with and the police are likely there for crowd control to keep rubberneckers away from it while experienced handlers can get it under control.

The aliens realized they made a mistake and picked up a 'seal' and not a Navy SEAL. They had to get rid of it somehow...

originally posted by: FawnyKate
Well this thread brought all the Scousers and Woollybacks out of the woodwork.

I'm guessing the animal got past the locks by following a boat.

And what a waste of Police resources! Why on earth would it take that many police to secure a seal?

And before anyone starts, Calm down calm down !

eh! eh! eh!