Lone grey seal pup rescued from Pembrokeshire beach

The pup was only about a day off when she was found

A day-old grey seal pup who was found abandoned on a Pembrokeshire beach has been rescued by animal charity workers.

The seal, the first young grey pup of the season, was found on Whitesands near St David's almost a week ago, by two Welsh Marine Life Rescue members.

With no sign of her mother, the pup was taken to an RSPCA wildlife centre for rehabilitation.

She is expected to be there for some months before she is released back into the wild.

The pup was found on 22 August.

RSPCA animal collection officer Ellie West said: "She was what we call a 'white coat' as she had all her fluffy white fur coat as she was so young - in fact, she was only about 24 hours old.

"She was struggling in the surf of the sea which is unusual as pups stay on land, usually till they moult their white coat at around two or three weeks old.

"They are then left to fend for themselves by their mothers and will take to the water."

Safe distance

She added: "In this case, sadly, there was no sign of mum, and some dogs on the beach had become interested in the pup."

She was first picked up by Welsh Marine Life Rescue and was then passed to the RSPCA after she had been assessed and given rehydration fluids.

An RSPCA spokeswoman added that while this pup was obviously in distress, not all lone seal pups have been abandoned.

Anyone who finds a seal pup that looks and fit and healthy and shows no signs of distress, should monitor it first from a safe distance for 24 hours before contacting the RSCPA.