A seal which nearly choked to death after it was found with a Frisbee stuck around its neck has been released back into the wild.
The Atlantic grey had become weaker and weaker as the abandoned plastic disc cut into her neck and was ‘nearly dead’ when she was found at Horsey beach in Norfolk.
After rehabilitation at the RSPCA’s East Winch wildlife centre – where staff nicknamed her Mrs Frisbee – she has now been released back into the North Sea to rejoin her colony.
Mrs Frisbee was found on the brink of death with deep cut wounds, and emaciated after she was unable to eat because of the ring which had tightened as she grew
The wild grey seal was rescued from Horsey Beach in north Norfolk last September with the abandoned toy slicing into her neck
RPCA staff had to cut the seal free from the plastic toy, which had cut deep into her neck
Freedom: It was a long and painful road to recovery for the stricken seal, but she is now back in her natural habitat
She was rescued by volunteers from the Friends Of Horsey Seals group and cared for at the RSPCA’s East Winch Wildlife Centre near King’s Lynn, Norfolk.
RSPCA staff believe Mrs Frisbee could have been struggling with the plastic ring throttling her for up to six months as she eluded capture in a bid to stay with her group.
She was found in September on the brink of death with deep cut wounds and was emaciated, unable to eat as the ring tightened around her neck as she grew.
Mrs Frisbee was nursed back to health with antibiotics, painkillers and steroids and went through four 25kg bags of salts a day as part of her rehabilitation.
She was taken to the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre only a month after the charity rescued another seal with a plastic frisbee around its neck.
But she has since made a full recovery, having ballooned from 67kg (10 stone 7lbs) on admission five months ago to 180kg (28 stone 4lbs) on the day she was released.
Mrs Frisbee was nursed back to health with antibiotics, painkillers and steroids and went through four 25kg bags of salts a day as part of her rehabilitation
The seal ballooned from 67kg (10 stone 7lbs) on admission five months ago to 180kg (28 stone 4lbs) on the day she was released
Mrs Frisbee had to be weighed on a weigh bridge at a local aggregates company, as the centre’s scales only go up to 100kg
The Atlantic grey ‘was nearly dead’ when she arrived at the centre’. Ms Charles added: ‘I’ve never seen an injury like that and I’ve worked with seals for over 20 years’
RSPCA staff believe Mrs Frisbee could have been struggling with the plastic ring throttling her for up to six months, eluding capture in a bid to stay with her group
The animal was taken to the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre only a month after the charity rescued another seal with a plastic frisbee around its neck
The seal was ‘extremely emaciated’ when she was rescued and the RSPCA said it will take a long while for her to gain weight again as she had been starving for a long period of time
Onlookers clapped and cheered as Mrs Frisbee was released back into the wild at Horsey Gap in Norfolk
Centre Manager Alison Charles said: ‘She’s put a little bit of weight on, that’s the joy of mackerel, absolutely amazing.’
Mrs Frisbee ‘was nearly dead’ when she arrived at the centre, she added.
‘I’ve never seen an injury like that and I’ve worked with seals for over 20 years,’ she said.
‘But we thought we’d give her a try with how she recovered on the first day.
‘It’s a minor miracle, she’s done incredibly well, but it’s a lot of hard work from a lot of people getting her fit and healthy.’
Ms Charles said the seal’s neck extended ‘like a concertina’ once the disc was removed.
She was given antibiotics and steroids, and was eating mackerel by the next day.
‘It’s taken a long long time but she’s finally come good,’ said Ms Charles. ‘She’s got a heck of a scar on her because of how extensive her injury was but she’s brilliant.’
RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre has been caring for the injured seal since last year
Staff said she was a ‘fighter’ and after months of care, Mrs Frisbee was released on to the beach at Horsey to rejoin the seal colony
Ms Charles added: ‘Seals are inquisitive creatures by nature, so it’s likely she spotted the frisbee in the water and went over to investigate and that’s how it became stuck round her neck.
‘Over the months she has grown and as result it has become more and more embedded in her neck and it is likely that towards the end it would have been restricting her from eating and drinking.
‘She extremely emaciated when she came in and it will take a long while for her to gain weight again as she had clearly been starving for a long period of time.
‘We cut the frisbee off, but once removed it was clear to see this awful deep wound on her neck, it was just horrible to see, the poor girl.
‘Once removed, she started to shake her head, so I guess it was a relief to have it off after all those months. She then had a long drink of water.
‘We are so grateful to the Friends of Horsey Seals for their perseverance in catching her, if they hadn’t got her, it’s likely she would have died.
‘It is heartbreaking to think that this could have been prevented if people just took extra care with their litter on the coastline.’