A seal rescued in Cornwall has been making friends with some kayakers along the west of the island.
Craig Whalley and a friend were out kayaking when they realised they were being followed by a friendly seal.
Their underwater camera attached to the back of Craig’s kayak filmed the mammal and, after looking back on the footage, they saw the seal was tagged.
Craig contacted Cornwall Seal Group Research Trust, which identified the seal as a female called Escort.
Manx Wildlife Trust said: ’Escort was rescued in Hayle, Cornwall, on December 14, 2017, with a swollen fore flipper and was taken to the RSPCA West Hatch Animal Centre.
’She weighed only 17.98kg (two stone, 11lb) on her admittance and by the time she was released she had doubled in weight to 35kg (5st 7lb).
’She was released on February 22, 2018, in Combe Martin, North Devon.
’The distance is about 410km (255 miles) from Combe Martin to the Isle of Man, so it’s great that she was able to be identified and her story found.
’When a seal is seen in Manx waters, and identified, it gives us an idea of where they travel to/from and an idea of their feeding grounds. Every one identified increases our understanding about the seals that reside around our island.’
The two species often seen in Manx waters are the Atlantic grey seal and the common or harbour seal.
Information about any seal sightings can be sent via email to [email protected].
A video of Escort swimming behind Craig and Shane can be viewed on the Manx Wildlife Trust website.