A Sub-Atlantic fur seal spent the day sunning itself on Illovo beach on Thursday, 5 May, much to local residents’ surprise.
The seal, believed to have come from Marion Island, south of Cape Town, was identified as an adult male from the tuft of fur on his head between five and six-years-old.
Devon Crowe received a call from a member of the public and he tried to get as close to it to take some photographs to send to Seaworld to identify the seal.
“I managed to get to about 2m from it. He was very aware of me. You have to be careful when dealing with seals and I was cautious. When I got too close, he lunged up and let out an intimidating bark to warn me to back off.
Seals might look friendly and docile in movies, but in reality they can be dangerous. This is only the second one I have seen. The first was about two years ago and in roughly the same place.”
It is believed the seal beached sometime on Wednesday night. He climbed over a dune and lay in the sand, sunning himself and resting about 150m south of The Boardwalk complex.
Once he had rested enough, the 1.5m sea mammal that Devon said was not injured, swam away to continue his adventure.
