{"id":137956,"date":"2025-09-12T15:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137956\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T15:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T15:17:08","slug":"rathlin-seal-with-black-tubing-around-its-neck-being-monitored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/137956\/","title":{"rendered":"Rathlin seal with black tubing around its neck being monitored"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Maria McCannBBC News NI north east reporter<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250905-110137-f27f908f49-web-2.29.1-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a8c324f0-8fb1-11f0-8b60-91a9d6182437.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"DAERA A seal is lying on rocks. It has a large black tube stuck on its neck. Other seals are beside it.\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"\/>DAERA<\/p>\n<p>Exploris Aquarium say there are reports that the seal has had the tubing around its neck for months<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">A seal spotted on Rathlin Island with black piping around its neck is being monitored by officials. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) said it is visiting the island to check on the animal every fortnight but it is currently assessed as being &#8220;healthy and alert&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">It was first reported to Exploris Aquarium in August but head keeper Euan Morrison said there are some reports that the seal has had the tubing around it for months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;We have seen the seal for the last five weeks or so, and have been monitoring it over that time. We think it&#8217;s had that issue for quite a lot longer than that, possibly as far back as last summer,&#8221; he told BBC News NI.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">He said there are several challenges in trying to remove it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;We could look at darting them and trying to catch it but if we do that it&#8217;s going to disappear in the water. It won&#8217;t end well for the seal if it falls asleep out there,&#8221; Mr Morrison said.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250905-110137-f27f908f49-web-2.29.1-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a5cfbc80-8f17-11f0-9671-530d548ef31e.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Euan Morrison, a young man wearing a blue Exploris Aquarium polo shirt, stands to the left of frame while facing the camera. The background is blurred but the sky, trees and a rocky water feature can be seen. \" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Exploris Aquarium head keeper, Euan Morrison, says the seal has been assessed as being healthy <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Mr Morrison said those looking to catch the seal would need to &#8220;more or less&#8221; jump on it, which would require being very close. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;At the moment, it looks far too fit and healthy, it&#8217;s sat at the edge of the water,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;We&#8217;re not going to get within a couple of hundred metres of it, never mind get hands on it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Mr Morrison said this is good news as despite the piping the seal looks &#8220;really healthy&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;It&#8217;s showing all the signs we really want to see; head up, tail up, it looks nice and fat,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">The keeper said the seal appeared to be hunting well and it had not shown any signs of slowing down, despite the tube.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20250905-110137-f27f908f49-web-2.29.1-3\/grey-placeholder.png\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 iMuqLZ hide-when-no-script\" aria-label=\"image unavailable\"\/><img decoding=\"async\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/32cf2600-8f1f-11f0-8ce3-5fb6152ae494.jpg.webp.webp\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"DAERA A herd of seals are sitting on rocks beside the ocean. One has large black tubing over its neck.  One has its eyes closed.\" class=\"sc-86c96223-0 fHZDyi\"\/>DAERA<\/p>\n<p>Daera are liaising with Exploris on potential intervention options &#8220;when the situation allows&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">A Daera spokesperson said they are &#8220;liaising closely with Exploris on potential intervention options when the situation allows&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">&#8220;Exploris have assessed the seal as being healthy and alert which, combined with the presence of other seals in close proximity, makes any intervention measures difficult to implement without causing a wider disturbance to the colony which could result in injuries.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 bJoRPJ\">Officials are continuing to monitor the situation and have urged members of the public to notify them of further sightings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maria McCannBBC News NI north east reporter DAERA Exploris Aquarium say there are reports that the seal has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-137956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}