AN INJURED seal that washed up on a beach in Dorset has died after becoming scared by members of the public who tried taking pictures of it.

The grey seal pup suffered from serious injuries to one of its flippers caused by a fishing line that had cut into its bone.

The helpless mammal was spotted on Chesil Beach in West Bexington, Dorset, earlier this week.

However it was forced to return into the water after becoming terrified by people who kept taking selfies.

SCARED TO DEATH

The seal pup came ashore a second time, hours later at dusk, when most people had left, reported Dorset Echo.

The pup was spotted by a concerned member of the public who alerted the RSPCA.

RSPCA West Hatch, near Taunton, has cared for 40 seals since the beginning of autumn.

Local wildlife expert Derek Davey temporarily took care of the seal but said the delay in proper treatment would have caused the seal even greater pain.

He said: "Taking photographs and crowding around it made it go back into the water to get away. Luckily it later came ashore again hours later.

"It would still have been the same result had it been rescued earlier but it must have endured quite a slow death by going back into the sea.

"It had a fishing line around its flipper which had dug into the bone and the wound was infected.

"There were several puncture wounds on its body.”

He added: “If you do see a seal pup washed-up on the beach, call the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the RSPCA or another local wildlife group.

“Approach it from a distance, don’t force it back into the water and be careful because they can bite.”

The RSPCA said the mammal was in an "emaciated condition" and suffered from an infection in its bones.

A spokesman for the charity said: "Sadly the seal rescued from Chesil beach was in an emaciated condition, and had a long linear wound around one flipper, right the way down to the knuckle bones.

"The wildlife vet cleaned the wound out but the infection was already in the bone and so the decision was made to put the seal to sleep based on the extent of this injury and the impact it would have on the future of the seal.

"The vet said the wound was narrow, and deep, and although they did not find anything within the wound which could have caused it, it is thought something like fishing line had been wrapped around it."

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