An injured seal pup is on the road to recovery after being rescued from Portland Harbour. 

Frances Ponting and Derek Davey from Weymouth Wildlife Rescue, saved the adorable common seal pup after a member of the Castle Cove Sailing Club reported the baby seal on the club’s slipway.

Frances said: “We went down to assess the situation however, because it was dark we couldn’t see any injuries but could smell a really pungent smell of infection.” 

On closer inspection, they discovered the male pup had infected puncture wounds on his rear flippers, which she said could have been inflicted by a dog, and a bloody and badly infected mouth. 

“It is important people know that if they see anything like a seal pup or a turtle, please leave them alone and keep dogs away. Call someone who is trained to assess the situation such as the local wildlife centre or the RSPCA,” she said. 

Derek and Frances failed to locate the pup's mother and as the seal was underweight and dehydrated, they made the difficult decision to rescue it. 

Frances said she made the pup as comfortable as possible for the night and drove him to the RSPCA West Hatch Animal Centre in Taunton first thing the next morning. 

“I had a sleepless night worrying about him. It’s such a rare occurrence for us. I was on West Hatch’s doorstep as they opened at 8am,” she said. 

A spokesman from RSPCA West Hatch Animal Centre said the pup was underweight, weighing only 11kg, so must have been without food for quite some time. 

They added it was hard to determine the pup’s exact age but as common seals normally give birth in July, the pup was probably only a few weeks old. 

The pup is now on antibiotics and the road to recovery. He is on a strict feeding regime to get his weight up which includes tube feeding him fluids and fish soup five times a day. 

The RSPCA will reassess his condition in five days’ time and he will stay at the centre until he weighs at least 35kg. 

The spokesman said: “When he is strong enough and eating fish well he will be transferred to a large pool until he is ready to be released alongside our other common seal pup, Kit, in Poole Harbour.” 

They added that the pups tend to do very well in the harbour and get regular sightings. 

The centre said Frances named the pup and as the centre has a car theme this season, she decided to call him Enzo. 

Enzo will be tagged with an identification number so the RSPCA can continue to monitor his progress after release.

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