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Baby seal found in country lane
A seal pup has been found at the side of a country lane in Lancashire - about four miles from the sea. RSPCA officers are trying to discover how the male, found in Capernwray, managed to get so far inland. They have said he may have even been a pet.
The animal was spotted by Mary Woods, 45, and her daughter, Joanne, 20, who managed to get him into their car boot and then take him to their family farm. "No one would believe us until they saw him," the 20-year-old said.
Ms Woods said they stopped after seeing the seal near a hedge.
"He started coming towards us and we just stared at it in amazement," she said. "He was too heavy to lift, so I reversed the car right up to him and we managed to get him in the boot.
"He was a bit grumpy and scared once we started to lift him."
The family put the seal in a calf pen until the RSPCA arrived. Nick Green, animal collection officer for the RSPCA, said: "Wild seals don't like being around humans at all, but this one seemed really quite tame, which suggests he could have been a pet. "We can't understand how he got there.
"He was found in the middle of a farming community, nowhere near the sea.
"It's bizarre. The sea and the nearest river are a long way from the spot where he was found."
The seal, who has been nicknamed Sid, is being cared for at Stapeley Grange wildlife centre. He is expected to be released into the wild. One theory is that he could have swum up the River Lune through Lancaster. It could then have crawled overland through fields and across roads, which is unlikely as the seal had no grazing or injuries to its body.
Or it could have been taken from another location and dumped by the side of the road.
A seal pup has been found at the side of a country lane in Lancashire - about four miles from the sea. RSPCA officers are trying to discover how the male, found in Capernwray, managed to get so far inland. They have said he may have even been a pet.
The animal was spotted by Mary Woods, 45, and her daughter, Joanne, 20, who managed to get him into their car boot and then take him to their family farm. "No one would believe us until they saw him," the 20-year-old said.
Ms Woods said they stopped after seeing the seal near a hedge.
"He started coming towards us and we just stared at it in amazement," she said. "He was too heavy to lift, so I reversed the car right up to him and we managed to get him in the boot.
"He was a bit grumpy and scared once we started to lift him."
The family put the seal in a calf pen until the RSPCA arrived. Nick Green, animal collection officer for the RSPCA, said: "Wild seals don't like being around humans at all, but this one seemed really quite tame, which suggests he could have been a pet. "We can't understand how he got there.
"He was found in the middle of a farming community, nowhere near the sea.
"It's bizarre. The sea and the nearest river are a long way from the spot where he was found."
The seal, who has been nicknamed Sid, is being cared for at Stapeley Grange wildlife centre. He is expected to be released into the wild. One theory is that he could have swum up the River Lune through Lancaster. It could then have crawled overland through fields and across roads, which is unlikely as the seal had no grazing or injuries to its body.
Or it could have been taken from another location and dumped by the side of the road.