Seal spotted in the river Severn

11:02am Monday 19th November 2012 in News Sarah Hickinbotham By Sarah Davies

LUNCH: The seal battles with a salmon (pic by reader Michael Howe) LUNCH: The seal battles with a salmon (pic by reader Michael Howe)

THERE was something fishy going on in the river Severn in Worcester this weekend when a slippery customer from the coast made an unexpected visit.

A harbour seal, more accustomed to the coastline than landlocked Worcestershire, was seen making itself at home in the river at Powick and Diglis.

Caroline Attwood-Reusser was among a party of paddlers from Pershore-based Wychavon Kayak and Canoe Club who had a close encounter with the marine mammal – also known as a common seal – on Saturday afternoon near to the battle site at Powick.

They nicknamed the seal Keith after a Royalist commander who served during the English Civil War.

She said: “We were trying to recreate a bridge of boats like Cromwell used and we were storming the Teme when we were just going under the big bridge and one of the young lads with us said, ‘There’s a seal’.

“He was diving under our boats, playing under the waves, doing tumble turns and showing us his spotty belly. He looked very healthy.

“It’s just so exciting. Kayaking is a bit like that – you get to see wildlife most people don’t and that’s always special. But to see something so unusual, especially with the kids, it just blew them away.”

The seal swam with the group for half-an-hour and was spotted the next day tucking into fish by Diglis weir. Carol and Vince Treagus were walking their dogs by Diglis docks at about 10.30am on Sunday when they saw it.

Mrs Treagus said: “It had a big fish in its mouth. We were chatting with the lady in lockkeeper’s cottage who said the seals come up every few weeks, with the high tide.

“They get up to Tewkesbury, and then come through the lock gates. Apparently, they get back the same way.”

Mr Treagus said: “He was right by the lock gate at Diglis, on the new bridge side, and he’d had a few fish.

“There were a lot of people stood watching and taking pictures – as it’s not something you usually see.”

Amy Sewell, senior marine mammal keeper at West Midland Safari Park, said it was likely the seal was a juvenile who had taken a wrong turn. She said: “As long as there’s food about, it’ll be fine. They’re very inquisitive and as long as people aren’t a threat to them, they’re not going to retaliate.

“They live in groups so they’re social animals – it could be he’s feeling a little lonely.”

An RSPCA spokesman said: “They don’t tend to stay long and will eventually make their own way out.

“There is usually no reason for us to intervene unless the animal is injured, sick or distressed. People should just enjoy observing them, as they won’t be there long.”

Anyone with specific concerns about the wellbeing of the seal should contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.

Comments(43)

WAG2315 says...
11:52am Mon 19 Nov 12

how long before the anglers start moaning about the seal taking all the fish.once,on southend pier,i was talking to an angler,and some of the conversation went as follows :-

angler "those seals are **** nuisance"

me "they're probably thinking the same thing about you mate"

perhaps im getting like john phillpot in my old age :-)

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CJH says...
12:01pm Mon 19 Nov 12

Well as long as it has a fishing licence it'll be fine...

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ramona666 says...
12:09pm Mon 19 Nov 12

I saw the seal yesterday too. He looked very happy and healthy and he didn't notice the crowd of speactators watching him.

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spider666 says...
12:49pm Mon 19 Nov 12

I liked his first album the best

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green49 says...
1:00pm Mon 19 Nov 12

spider666 says...
12:49pm Mon 19 Nov 12
I liked his first album the best,

Perhaps he was out promoting a new one?

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Hack says...
4:07pm Mon 19 Nov 12

The fish's jaw on one pic suggests it may be a young salmon.

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More Tea Vicar says...
9:24pm Mon 19 Nov 12

Hack wrote:
The fish's jaw on one pic suggests it may be a young salmon.
fascinating.

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Grumbleweed Connection says...
9:05am Tue 20 Nov 12

I doubt if the fish is a salmon as it is unlikely to be running the Severn at this time of the year. This size of the fish is too small for an adult going upstream and too large for a youngster returning to the sea.

The seal must be quite resourceful to have navigated Tewkesbury weir or lock. I wonder if anyone could shed light on the effect of long term exposure to fresh (as opposed to salt) water on the seal. Many creatures would not tolerate the salinity change.

In terms of effect on the fish stocks, the current plethora of cormorants on the Severn would be far more significant.

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Hack says...
9:11am Tue 20 Nov 12

The jaw of the fish suggests otherwise. It is certainly not a carp, roach or common freshwater fish. The slightly under-slung jaw hints at salmon.

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spider666 says...
10:18am Tue 20 Nov 12

I'm with Hack--It's a salmon,the jawline gives it away.

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TDH123 says...
3:59pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Watch out for the eskimos!!

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Dilip Sarkar says...
4:26pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Unfortunately, but sadly predictably, many of the foregoing comments reflect complete ignorance of the River Severn - a freshwater ecosystem.

Salmon ARE currently running upstream - fifteen were counted passing over Diglis Weir last Saturday. Yes, cormorants (and other fish-eating birds) and otters are a problem - but nothing like this saltwater fish-eating machine - which does not belong in freshwater.

This seal was below Tewkesbury Weir for a long period, but negotiated that natural barrier until munching it's way upstream to the next natural barrier: Diglis. It never ceases to amaze me that so-called wildlife enthusiasts have no perception whatsoever of the sub-surface ecosystem - which is threatened enough as it is these days by abstraction, pollution, poaching and fish theft, and avian and mammalian predation.

Last Sunday I saw this seal eat a large chub, what was either a salmon or a zander (difficult to tell at that distance), and two pike (no question about those) that were both over ten pounds. On 8 November I caught a pike in that area of 13lbs, the anal fin of which had been bitten off. Never having seen anything like it I was puzzled as to the cause - but now I know.

Seals are wonderful creatures - when scuba diving in the Orkneys I used to snorkel with them off Flotta, amazing animals. But we really need to understand the irrevocable damage that this fish-eating machine is doing at Diglis. The fish the seal takes are large - and they are defenceless against it. They take years to grow that big, and, what with all the other predation the odds are already stacked against them. This creature is currently decimating Diglis - whilst people who don't understand the bigger picture feed and croon over it. From our perspective - as conservationists - the seal's presence is an unmitigated catastrophe.

So please, I implore people to consider the bigger picture here. The seal belongs in saltwater - not fresh - and it should and must be returned there without delay. The seal needs to be humanely returned to its intended and natural habbitat with its own kind - not be left to continue to wreak havoc and destroy everything we - all local people - have worked to preserve and create. To leave the seal at Diglis - and for people to continue feeding it - is nothing but completely irresponsible and not in the environment's best interest - and by that I mean both the seal and fish.

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SteveBown says...
4:48pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Well said Dilip. I think there would be a different outlook if an Eagle Owl had got loose over St Johns and was swooping down and grabbing everyones Cats and Dogs and eating them in from of their eyes but it's the same thing.

Beautiful creature but one that will utterly destroy the delicate balance of nature as it eats it's way through the Diglis fish population.

Have it humanely returned to where it belongs and where the environment can sustain the creature.

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SteveBown says...
4:49pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Well said Dilip. I think there would be a different outlook if an Eagle Owl had got loose over St Johns and was swooping down and grabbing everyones Cats and Dogs and eating them in from of their eyes but it's the same thing.

Beautiful creature but one that will utterly destroy the delicate balance of nature as it eats it's way through the Diglis fish population.

Have it humanely returned to where it belongs and where the environment can sustain the creature.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
5:52pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Spot opn, Steve. Why sea anglers were bemoaning a seal's presence at Southend, as described by the initial poster, bewilders me - that is where they belong, in the sea, so those anglers have no right to complain. Seals are a natural part of the saltwater ecosystem - end of. But they are not so far as freshwater is concerned. What happens when the seal reaches the breeding season but is solo? Do people not appreciate how dangerous these apparently cuddly looking creatures can be? Sorry, but Slappy needs a helping hand back saltwater and soonest. The damage it is doing on our beloved local river is enough to make a grown man weep, especially when the majority simply do not appreciate the actual situation. As for the good lady who lives on the lock island stating to my old colleague Vince Treagus and as reported in today's Worcester News that seals are frequent visitors, I don't know what she's seen previously but it isn't a seal - in 52 years of living on the Severn's banks, 42 of which I've been an angler, this is the first I've seen as far upstream as Worcester. As you know, Steve, we've a family of otters at Diglis - and to put otters and cormorants into perspective I'm not entirely convinced that on a deep, dark, river like the Lower Severn they actually do much damage - unlike on a shallow, clear, river like the Teme, which they have decimated. But a five-feet long seal is an entirely different matter. Our concern, therefore, is not hysterical but entirely measured and grounded upon both science and a lifetime's experience on the river.

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Hack says...
6:10pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Hi Dilip - my posts were seeking to be factual not supportive of the seal in fresh water. You are correct, the seal ought to be returned to its correct habitat. Seals are fearless, so pike and zander are menu options. Carp are slower, as are chub and being bottom feeders may not see what's above them. Same for barbel.
As to eco-systems, have we now accepted zander? This pike/perch cross was, I recall from many years back, introduced (I use the word advisedly) into our waterways, was it from Holland?

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Dilip Sarkar says...
6:24pm Tue 20 Nov 12

The zander was introduced into the Fens by the former East Anglian Water Authority - without any research whatsoever - which, seeing as the Fens at that time offered the best pike-fishing around was ridiculous. The pike, of course, is our natural freshwater apex predator, so introducing an alien predator was plain stupid. The zeds have since spread into many waterways - including the Severn, which, in fact, produced the current record of 21.05 in 2005. Although the zander remains on the alien species list, the fact is that they have now colonised our waterways and it would be impossible to ereadicate them. So, we predator specialists have embraced that and fish for both pike and zander. My son, James, is a fishery management degree student and last winter did a survey on both Severn pike and zander - the pike are no leaner than they were in the 1970s, suggesting that they are eating the juvenille zeds, which are present in droves. We also know that in Holland pike and zander live happily side-by-side and that country produces huge specimens of both species. So, in spite of the East Anglian stupidity, it seems that, certainly on the Severn, nature has found a way of balancing out the presence of this extra predator. As largely ambush predators, however, both pike and zander are easy pickings for the seal. What I witnessed at Diglis Lock last Sunday was heart-breaking - three specimen pike and zander taken in less than thirty minutes - specimens that we pay good money to fish for (and return safely upon capture). We have worked very hard since I took control of the fishing rights to conserve these wonderful fish - now Slappy (sorry, refuse to call it 'Keith'!) is destroying all our work as we speak. As I say: heartbreaking, especially when the general public (or RSPCA) simply have no grasp or understanding of the bigger picture.

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eagleowl says...
7:06pm Tue 20 Nov 12

As a birdlover I would expect something done if a Golden Eagle was predating on the 'Worcester' Peregrines. As an animal lover I would expect something done if a puma was predating on the local cats, dogs and wildlife. As a fish lover I expect something done about a harbour seal gorging itself on our local AQUATIC wildlife. There is a place for every creature to live in harmony with its surroundings. This creature's place is not here, in a freshwater river and PIKE CONSERVATION AREA. Why are the public still SO ignorant of the fragile nature of ecosystems and the devestation that an apex predator and such voracious one as this can cause every hour of every day that it is allowed to remain. Why do the public not realise the potential impact on the whole river system which WILL impact on the welfare of the furry and feathery creatures too. Oh yes its very endearing (although it probably wouldnt be if you were a dog or a small child and got too near to it) and I have made the effort to go on boat trips or seen them in Scottish harbours many times which is where I would EXPECT to see them. 'Yes - Man's plundering and stupidity is surely responsible for freak occurences such as this so Man should take immediate action to move the seal back to the sea. Man has already devestated our river fish and their environment with pollution, extraction etc etc etc so Man should take responsibility to act on this now!

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yellow flower says...
7:06pm Tue 20 Nov 12

I agree needs help back to sea.

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Hack says...
7:16pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Oh dear! It seems it is not just the politics of county hall that encourages view along Ghengis Khan lines.
Okay, let's ban freshwater fishing on the basis that hooking a fish creates damage and can lead to infection. How's that for an eco-system.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
7:23pm Tue 20 Nov 12

How about you read the National Angling Participation Plan, which we delivered to the Minister for Environment at Westminster last Tuesday, Hack? Angling encourages environmental citizenship and provides disenfranchised youngsters both direction and a healthy outdoor pursuit - to name but two immeasurable benefits - not to mention being an industry worth £3.5 billion annually in the UK.

As ever, we have yet another example here of a poster being unable to oppose intelligent, measured and informed argument - so instead posts provacatively and inanely.

If it wasn't for anglers, no-one would know the first thing about the sub-surface ecosystem - which we will always fight tooth and nail to preserve - and conserve.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
7:26pm Tue 20 Nov 12

And for the record, our survey last year indicated that of well over 100 double-figure pike caught, at least eight were repeat captures - one of which was caught six imes (pike are identifiable due to unique markings). If any harm was being done to them, that wouldn't be the case, would it? The fact is that professional anglers such as we, using modern equipment and unhooking techniques, cause no damage whatsoever - and know more about the river than any government quango - or County Hal!!

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Dilip Sarkar says...
7:56pm Tue 20 Nov 12

And whilst I'm having an (informed) rant, why do people hide beyond silly 'handles' on this forum? I'm assuming that Hack = John Philpott. I've never hidden behind anything in my life when expressing opinions regarding things about which I am passionate - and neither has Steve Bown: Pike Anglers' Club of Great Britain Pike Angler of the Year 2010. We're angling conservationists and proud of it.

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Hack says...
8:23pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Dilip, yes I was being controversial. Holier-than-thou is not a mantra I subscribe to. Groups opposed to any fishing would argue you are wrong. Fishing is cruel and should be banned. Repeat capture does not signify all is okay, no matter your comments. To add to my controversial argument, that is like saying aged bruises on a child are not to be considered important.
I am not against fishing, fresh or sea, I am a fisherman. Do I use barbed or not? Once upon a time there was no choice. I despise dogmatic positions. You can quote what you wish, but loosen up. Fishing has its supporters and those who wish it banned. I am in the former. Don't shoot an ally just because they have an open perspective on a sport/leisure pursuit.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
8:32pm Tue 20 Nov 12

An intelligent and well-reasoned argument - Amen for that. A £3.5 billion industry, 4 million anglers in the UK and support from central government, however, confirms that angling remains an important pursuit in the UK - and long will it remain so. There is no chance of 'loosening up', my old friend, whilst Slappy destroys our fishery and everything we have worked for - whilst the misinformed and those who know no better applaud the seal's presence. Sorry, John, but there it is. If you want to see a seal, go to the sea or a safari park. We are passionate about our river - and know it in all its moods and seasons - if an alien creature - which is what this actually is in a freshwater envoronment - was piecemeal destroying a project you'd put several years of your life into, I somehow don't think the John Phillpott I know would be quite so pragmatic.

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Hack says...
8:48pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Dilip, I know John and way, way back in the past before you were lauded. So, is the pragmatic approach to rescue this seal and return it to its own environment. I say yes. Let's try and respect our own river, let's respect this mammal, let's respect the life of our river, let's respect fisherman who act with respect for the fish they catch; the fish they carefully return to the water. I've been there, I have been concerned as a child fishing in a London canal, fishing at Goring/ Sonning on the Thames for bream ... I could go on but not to any solution.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
8:58pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Fair does, and that being so, we are agreed. As I have explained, our perspective is that seals are wonderful creatures, as I know first-hand from snorkelling with them - but in their intended environment. This seal is lost and confused, and has been for some time, since taking up residence at Tewkesbury. Even if you take our concerns about fish out the equation, the fact remains that the seal needs to be returned to the sea and its own kind - for its own well-being. The fact is that for man to spectate and treat this animal as a curiosity is actually cruel. We should all be working together - not against each other - to see the seal returned safely to its natural environment. For the record, as a scuba diver long interested in marine conservation and ecology, I'd be saying that whether I was a local angler affected by this or not. The Worcester News should be helping do the right and responsible thing here - please let's work together to get Slappy back to the Severn Estuary from whence it came.

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Hack says...
9:04pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Sounds like a positive way forward. Let's lobby!

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James Sarkar says...
9:23pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Dilip I couldnt agree more, The seal DOES need to be returned to the sea as quickly as possible. Im not talking solely on the protection of our fish (particularly the Salmon due to this being prime time for salmon migration) but Grey seals time to reproduce is in the autumn - mid winter i.e. this time of year! Looking at the photos it is clearly not a juvinile judging by its size! We all know that animals DO get aggressive when the urge to reproduce takes hold, this seal on its own, lost and confused could well turn dangerous, particularly with the public feeding and getting close to it on a daily basis.
As Dilip says, the general public treating this animal with curiosity is cruel! It NEEDS to be returned back to SALTWATER with its OWN kind!

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Dilip Sarkar says...
10:07pm Tue 20 Nov 12

OK, James, calm down, calm down! Well done, Hack, we're on the same side. What we must do is make people realise that allowing this animal to remain in freshwater is cruel on various counts, to it and the fish upon which it now preys. I currently await a call from Natural England, and Tony Bostock, Director of the Severn Rivers Trust, is liaising with the Marine Conservation Society. Hopefully science and common-sense will prevail - this seal is not a circus act but a wild creature which must be returned to its natural envorinment urgently - fact.

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CYNIC_AL says...
11:00pm Tue 20 Nov 12

Not much news going on in Worcester again I see?

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scolesy says...
12:55am Wed 21 Nov 12

Hat off to you Dil,if any one knows what there talking about its you,,so lets hope Slappy can be returned to the sea safe and sound,if no one from the right authority can sort it, I could do with a new pair of slipper's,

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Martin48 says...
12:22pm Wed 21 Nov 12

I remember seeing a seal up at the Camp Lock a few years ago, when I was sculling there one summer; I think it was summer as the river was low. It was lying on the bottom of the bank near the pub. I thought it was a large inner tube from a vehicle, until it went back into the river. It was reported by the Evening News at the time as having been spotted at Diglis. I assume it eventually returned to the sea?

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BadgerMash says...
4:33pm Wed 21 Nov 12

I remember the same sensationalist scares about fish stocks being started (along with thinly veiled threats) when otters began to return to our waterways. Completely wrong, of course.

Hilariously, I've also heard people blaming beavers for decreased fish numbers in areas they are returning. (beavers are herbivores).

It seems some of us think a lot more about certain passtimes than wildlife. Or maybe just like to keep wildlife in it's place, like a stamp collection. It's only purpose being to be goggled at by tourists.

Seals often come up rivers and will have done so on the Severn regularly prior to the building of weirs. The species which is responsible for devastating fish stocks (as with almost all other wildlife) is man.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
7:49pm Wed 21 Nov 12

The thing about internet forums is that they spawn instant 'experts', such as 'BadgerMarsh'. He - or she - is quite right, however: beavers are not fish-eaters; whosoever has been overheard suggesting otherwise would not, in fact, have been an angler - because no-one understands the sub-surface ecosystem better.

The suggestion that 'people think more about certain pastimes than wildlife' is deeply insulting - to me and other fishery and environmental professionals. This is not about angling per se - but about a creature that has lost its way and is an alien predator devasting fish stocks - regarding which, as a committed environmentalist, I'd be concerned about whether an angler or not. The fact is that for some obscure reason fish do not have the same status in wildlife as fluffy mammals and birds. So little interest is shown in them, in fact, that it is only anglers who really appreciate, understand - and feel passionate about - what is happening beneath the water.

Whether or not seals travelled up-river before weirs and locks were built is irrelevant - and Diglis lock and weir was built in 1844.

Man certainly has devastated fish socks - abstraction and pollution being two major concerns. The point is that the extra predation by cormorants and otters - make no mistake - the river simply cannot sustain; the seal, as a fish-eating machine, is in a class of its own.

It would actually be refreshing if posters like BadgerMarsh actually did some meaningful research before being provactive - and unhelpful - and perhaps even acknowledged and respected the expert opinion of others posting on this thread - an expert opinion gleaned by years of both practical experience and formal study.

The fact is that the seal, whilst destroying the local sub-surface ecosystem, has been promoted as a virtual circus act - which is both vulgar and entirely innappropriate.

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BadgerMash says...
11:46pm Wed 21 Nov 12

Coming soon to a river near us - the otter cull? Based on sophisticatedly selective research funded by various sporting interests? Slick PR and well presented research is nothing new. Of course all of this is impossible. Isn't it? Who was it who said "The greatest lie is the truth cleverly told? Good advice if you don't want to be hooked by a spinner.

Without a decent stock of fish there would be few otters, few cormorants, less anglers - and probably no seal. The population of all of these is now, in most areas, refreshingly healthy, or at least recovering. Many organisations and interests have been involved in this recovery over many decades.

If the public delight at sightings of this seal has done nothing else, at least it has driven the wider wishes and intentions concerning at least one major wildlife success of past decades of a few (but by no means all) who have a specific interest in our rivers into the open.

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Dilip Sarkar says...
6:28am Thu 22 Nov 12

Who on earth is talking about an otter cull? Certainly not on this thread! This is about a seal that has lost its way and needs returning to saltwater, its own kind and intended natural environment. And, for everyone's information, Natural England have invited me to apply for a licence to shoot the seal - unbelievable! No matter what damage it was doing I, as a conservationist, could never do that - all we want is help to return the seal safely to the sea - not destroy it.

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BadgerMash says...
9:11am Thu 22 Nov 12

Quote: "Certainly not on this thread!" How true. That would be appalling PR. Elsewhere, however, political lobbying is being planned and supportive statistics being arranged.

The speed and heat with which otters and cormorants were raised in this thread concerning one seal in the lower reaches of one river doing what comes naturally is a warning to all of us who have worked long and hard to encourage our wildlife to recover from devastation - whether from pollution, habitat loss, or, ostensibly, "management" (hunting, shooting and trapping) to conserve game.

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pudniw_gib says...
5:23pm Thu 22 Nov 12

this is a silly argument, it is a wild animal just doing its thing.
If it was introduced from some far off place maybe remove it.
It has as much right to be scoffing fish as any other hunter in the river. It is not likely to eat all the fish in the Severn and it is unlikely to bring its mates along anytime soon.
If Dilip and his fishing friends try and get it removed I would like to come and watch please, should be amusing.
What would be even better; get it removed then it reappearing 3 weeks later.

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blingo says...
7:38pm Thu 22 Nov 12

if you're that worried about the fish stocks in the river why do you use live fish for bait then.

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scolesy says...
2:35am Fri 23 Nov 12

Do'nt worry guys the level of the Seven will have washed it down,,,as it will be,,so no one can say,," Is it Slappy you've got on your feet as a pair of slipper or a bit of rabbit???"..........

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scolesy says...
2:41am Fri 23 Nov 12

Do'nt worry guys the level of the Seven will have washed it down,,,as it will be,,so no one can say,," Is it Slappy you've got on your feet as a pair of slipper or a bit of rabbit???"..........

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DeBrian Thronker says...
3:07pm Fri 23 Nov 12

Let the poor seal do what it bliddy wants!

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