A young, playful seal is swimming in the Wadden Sea. He finds something interesting floating in the water. He nudges it with his nose and begins to play with it. The thing bobs up and down on the water, jumping away and coming back again. The young seal is enchanted and begins a wilder game, pushing it harder. Suddenly, the thing comes loose and lodges around the seal’s neck, where it is out of its reach. It won’t come off.
Months pass. The young playful seal grows up, but the torturous instrument will not budge, and worse, it will not stretch either.
The process of slow strangulation, caused by a ring that probably belonged to a bilge-pump, has finally weakened the seal so much that our volunteers on Terschelling were able to catch him today. It was heartrending to see the seal, even in his painful situation, still trying to fight for his freedom.
We hope to give him back his freedom as soon as he has recovered.
27-08-2006 Source: SRRC
