AN INJURED grey seal pup was rescued from a West Dorset beach.

The pup was thin, tired and had cuts and injuries on its back when it was found by anglers at Abbotsbury beach on Sunday morning.

Watch the video below:

Fran Ponting from Weymouth Wildlife Rescue was alerted to the injured seal and called wildlife expert and photographer Steve Trewhella and his wife Julie Hatcher. All three are trained in marine mammal rescues.

The anglers who found the pup stayed with it to make sure that no people or dogs disturbed the pup, until the rescuers arrived.

Mr Trewhella said that it was always a worry when wild animals are sick and injured that the public don't disturb them or get bitten while trying to help.

He said: “They may look like the cutest thing you have ever seen, but with large sharp claws, and a powerful bite, they could do an awful lot of damage to a well meaning member of the public.

“It is also essential to assess the animal, is it injured, dehydrated or malnourished, or is it simply hauled out and resting? This is down to experience.”

He added: “The seal was thin, not moving, and had cuts and injuries on its back, so it was decided to remove it from the beach, as you can see from the video, what appears to be a very sleepy and sick seal, could have given me a nasty bite, which can often lead to serious infection.”

The decision was taken to remove the seal from the beach and the volunteers used a blanket and a military field stretcher to pick up the pup.

Mr Trewhella said: “The seal was bagged in a military field stretcher, a useful thing when you have a 30 minute walk across shingle, it was then transferred into a cage, and Fran took him to RSPCA West Hatch in Somerset.”

The pup was treated at the centre and will stay there until it is well enough to be returned to the wild.

The Weymouth Wildlife Rescue and volunteers are all self-funded and donate their own time to help sick and injured wildlife in the area.

Dorset Echo: