Hunt for man who 'threw rock at clearly distressed' seal on beach (original) (raw)
The young seal appeared 'distressed' on the Welsh beach before lunging at its attacker. Police are appealing to find the man who lobbed the rock at the protected species
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Man hurls stone at young seal on Great Orme beach
Video footage has captured the moment a man threw a large stone at a seal on a North Wales beach as locals fear the colony will now leave the beach.
The young seal appeared uninjured on the beach in Great Orme, Llandudno, with North Wales Police (NWP) issuing a public appeal to identify the man, who was photographed by residents on Marine Drive above the beach with a second man.
The force's rural crime team said a video of the incident shows the seal as being "clearly distressed". After being struck, the animal lunged at the man before fleeing into the sea. Having seen the video, some believe the man was trying to coax the seal to the sea in a misguided attempt to help.
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The seal appeared uninjured (
Image:
Great Orme Grey Seals/Daily Post)
Jenni Louise Cox, the Orme’s unofficial seal guardian, was left so angry that her camera shook as she filmed the incident on Tuesday, June 18. After the incident, Orme regular Gwyneth Harding said she reported it to North Wales Police and RSPCA Cymru.
She said: “I am appalled by the actions of the man in the video. I would like this person to be identified and to be brought to book. They can’t get away with it. The seals in the area have protected status."
Some believe the man was simply trying to usher the seal back to the sea (
Image:
Great Orme Grey Seals/Daily Post)
Jenni claimed it was not the first time seals have been hit with pebbles and rocks on the Conwy beach. Filming from Marine Drive, she is collecting evidence of human interference in the hope access restrictions can be tightened.
“I’d not been there for a few days,” she said. “There was just one seal on the beach. When I saw two men on a ledge above the beach, I knew it was only a matter of time before something happened.
Most people found the footage distressing but some thought the man was mistaken but thought it was the right thing to do (
Image:
Great Orme Grey Seals/Daily Post)
“The problem is, people don’t just want to see the seals, they want to get close, distressing the animals. When this man approached the seal, I shouted. I wanted him to leave it alone and get off the beach as quickly as possible.
"Initially he couldn’t hear me because of the wind but as I got angrier, I got louder. His behaviour then changed as if he was pretending nothing had happened. I just don’t know what’s wrong with people.”
Grey seals first arrived at the Great Orme to establish a colony in 2017. Since then, numbers have steadily risen – a count in early January found 178 seals and pups on the shingle at Pigeon’s Cove, their regular refuge. Jenni and others say numbers can reach 300 after a successful breeding season.
The seal then fled the beach to the sea (
Image:
Great Orme Grey Seals/Daily Post)
After watching the video many were left reeling at the distressing scenes. Others interpreted the incident differently.
Writing online, a Llandudno woman said: “Looks to me like he was actually concerned that the seal was stranded and was trying to get it to go to the water. If they’d meant to harm the seal both men would have had a go. People are so quick to judge.”
Experts advise people to “always maintain a safe distance” if they see a seal or pup on a beach. Any attempts to touch or carry a seal, or chase it into the sea is “likely to cause stress”. Even young seals can be dangerous with the potential to cause injury.
The Scottish SPCA said: “Sometimes well-meaning people see seals on the beach and assume they’re stranded, injured or sick. This is not usually the case. It is perfectly normal for seals to spend time onshore, therefore this is not necessarily a cause for concern.”
From her experience, Jenni said seals like to haul up on beaches overnight for a rest - she usually visits first thing in the morning when they’re most likely to be present. She said local council wardens are excellent but were unavailable when she called them immediately after the incident.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen people throwing things at the seals,” she said. “Some even do it from the road when the seals are directly below.
“More often you see people going up to them, shouting and screaming and clapping their hands to get a response. That’s really quite common. 99% of the time, the seals quickly crawl back out to sea. But this one was younger and seemed uncertain what to do.
“My concern is that the seals will be disturbed too often and abandon this beach. It’s not been too bad recently as the weather has been poor, so fewer people are around. That’s likely to change when the weather improves.”
In recent years, signs have been erected above the cove banning access during autumn and winter breeding season. New signs appeared late last year extending the prohibition period. Jenni would like the ban extended year-round.
Gwyneth Harding, a regular caravan visitor, has witnessed similar behaviour at Angel Bay, another seal haunt at the Little Orme near Penrhyn Bay. Often the seals are left visibly distressed, she said – but yesterday’s incident was the "worst" she had seen.
She told North Wales Live: “I would like to see more wardens at these beaches – and more visible signage to inform and educate people of the dos and don’ts when watching the seals. I’d also like to see visible phone numbers for reporting people harassing the seals.” Police are still appealing for anyone with information to get in touch.