Jersey beach sealed off as seal sheds its fur

The beach has been closed since Friday morning so the seal would not be disturbed by islanders or other animals

A Jersey beach has been closed to allow a seal to shed its fur in peace.

It appeared at Greve de Lecq, St Ouen on Thursday evening, seeking land for its annual moult.

The animal was seen returning to the sea on Saturday, but police said the beach would remain shut until Sunday in case it ventured back on to land.

The sight had proven popular with local residents, although British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said there was a fear people may feel uneasy.

Donna Gicquel-de Gruchy from the BDMLR said: "It makes him look sick and it makes people panic, but he's actually not doing too bad, so we've been down monitoring him, he's gone off and we don't expect him to return as we expect he's probably found a very nice rock somewhere on the low tide, sitting in the sun."

Islander Maya Huelin, who saw the seal return to the ocean, said it "made my weekend".

"I was just so excited to see it make it back to the sea ok, everyone else seemed pleased to, people were stopping to look," she said.

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