Abandoned baby seal rescued after being found in park

By Sophie England via SWNS

An adorable seal pup has been rescued after being found in the most unlikely of habitats - an Essex park.

A dog walker stumbled upon the lonely seal pup near a tiny section of the River Crouch in Wickford Memorial Park.

Vets were called to the park but the seal eluded its rescuers for more than an hour before finally being spotted again.

The male is now on the road to recovery at South Essex Wildlife Hospital - with the facility joking about their fish bill, which has been 'on the rise' since he moved in.

Lead vet Tom Linsel rushed to the park in Wickford, South Essex, after receiving a call from a confused dog walker who spotted the seal near a section of the River Crouch.

The common seal was alone with no parent in sight, but by the time Mr Linsel arrived - around 40 minutes after the spotting - the playful pup was nowhere to be seen.

He continued to search for the seal and eventually spotted the pup over an hour after arriving.

A spokesman for the South Essex Wildlife Hospital said: "What is the last thing you expect to find in the middle of a park in Wickford? Definitely a baby seal.

"Luckily, after over an hour of searching, the pup was spotted on the edge of a muddy bank - about 500m from the original location - and a now very muddy Tom pulled him to safety.

"Amazingly, only a few people noticed Tom walking back to the ambulance with a seal pup in his arms."

The wildlife hospital - the only facility of its kind in kind in all of Essex, London, and Kent which deals with more than 10,000 patients and 20,000 callouts each year - revealed a spike in reports of grey seal pups needing help earlier this year.

After taking the muddy seal pup back to the animal facility, the adorable animal is now on the road to recovery along with seven other seals.

"Now back at the center, the young male has had a good bath and is now looking a lot better," the spokesman added.

"We now have four common - also known as harbor - seal pups along with four grey seals.

"Our fish bill is on the rise yet again.

"If you wanted to help this pup and his new friends stay nice and full, please consider donating at https://southessexwildlife.org/donate."