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Nature

A seal pup showed up at a pub in England. Was it looking for a pint and some fish 'n' chips?

seal at pub, scottish seal, old lock and weir
via Pexels and Google

A seal and The Old Lock and Weir pub in England.

The Old Lock and Weir pub just outside of Bristol, England had a unique visitor stop by on Sunday, January 2 at about 11:30 in the morning, a seal pup somewhere between six and 12 months old. The seal swam up to the pub, which lies on the banks of the River Avon.

"It was amazing. Totally out of the blue," Dan Rawlins, the general manager of the pub, told the BBC. "It's not every day you expect to find a baby seal outside the pub," said bar and kitchen worker John Jefferies.

The seal, nicknamed Nacho by the pub staff, was a social little guy who seemed to be comfortable around humans. “He was moving around quite a lot and didn't seem too bothered about all the people around,” Rawlins told The Dodo.

Rawlins thinks that he probably walked up to the pub to get a bite to eat. Some fish and chips, maybe? Or possibly the pub’s signature prawn cocktail?

“As he was underweight, [he was] obviously attracted to the pub kitchen," Rawlins told The Dodo. "We're speculating that he was hungry."


The pub posted photos of the pup on its Facebook page and its regulars thought Nacho deserved a drink and some fish.

"Awww, bless wish I'd been there to see him, he's gorgeous, so glad he's safe now. Didn't he get a free pint and some fish after traveling l that way to visit you?" Marilyn Williams asked.

"Bless him! Amazing work all involved. He defo deserves a nice whiskey to warm the cockles and couple of fish before heading back to Scotland!" Christian Wiltshire wrote.

Rawlins called the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for some advice about how to handle the pup and was told to let the animal return to the water.

The pub workers redirected Nacho to the water and it was high tide so he jumped in and swam away. However, about an hour later, he was back at the front door of the pub. “He'd come up the slipway, straight under the gate and then when we spotted him again, he was right outside the pub,” Rawlins said, according to The Scotsman.

The pub staff created a small pen using pallets to contain the seal and wrapped him in wet blankets to keep him comfortable. British Divers Marine Life Rescue safely retrieved Nacho and brought him to RSPCA West Hatch for treatment.

The rescuers scanned the seal’s tag and discovered he had made a 300-mile journey to Bristol from Scotland. They also learned he had lost a serious amount of weight. He had weighed 73 pounds when he was tagged but only 31 pounds after being rescued. It was also discovered Nacho had seal pox, which had caused some hair loss.

The seal is currently undergoing treatment and once the little guy puts on some extra blubber, the plan is to release him back to the sea. Sadly, he has yet to enjoy any of the fine food offerings at The Old Lock and Weir.

The RSPCA shared a photo of Nacho on Tuesday and he appears to be doing well.

“Nacho has come along really well since then and is enjoying a rest, after the journey to the pub,” the RSPCA wrote on Facebook. “He is eating well and is now 16.4 kg [36 pounds]. This means he will soon be moved into our larger pool, along with another one of our seals called Wool, so they can socialize with the other seals in there and get ready for release.”

Planet

Easy (and free!) ways to save the ocean

The ocean is the heart of our planet. It needs our help to be healthy.

Ocean Wise

Volunteers at a local shoreline cleanup

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The ocean covers over 71% of the Earth’s surface and serves as our planet’s heart. Ocean currents circulate vital heat, moisture, and nutrients around the globe to influence and regulate our climate, similar to the human circulatory system. Cool, right?

Our ocean systems provide us with everything from fresh oxygen to fresh food. We need it to survive and thrive—and when the ocean struggles to function healthfully, the whole world is affected.

Pollution, overfishing, and climate change are the three biggest challenges preventing the ocean from doing its job, and it needs our help now more than ever. Humans created the problem; now humans are responsible for solving it.

#BeOceanWise is a global rallying cry to do what you can for the ocean, because we need the ocean and the ocean needs us. If you’re wondering how—or if—you can make a difference, the answer is a resounding YES. There are a myriad of ways you can help, even if you don’t live near a body of water. For example, you can focus on reducing the amount of plastic you purchase for yourself or your family.

Another easy way to help clean up our oceans is to be aware of what’s known as the “dirty dozen.” Every year, scientists release an updated list of the most-found litter scattered along shorelines. The biggest culprit? Single-use beverage and food items such as foam cups, straws, bottle caps, and cigarette butts. If you can’t cut single-use plastic out of your life completely, we understand. Just make sure to correctly recycle plastic when you are finished using it. A staggering 3 million tons of plastic ends up in our oceans annually. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone recycled!

The 2022 "Dirty Dozen" ListOcean Wise

If you live near a shoreline, help clean it up! Organize or join an effort to take action and make a positive impact in your community alongside your friends, family, or colleagues. You can also tag @oceanwise on social if you spot a beach that needs some love. The location will be added to Ocean Wise’s system so you can submit data on the litter found during future Shoreline Cleanups. This data helps Ocean Wise work with businesses and governments to stop plastic pollution at its source. In Canada, Ocean Wise data helped inform a federal ban on unnecessary single-use plastics. Small but important actions like these greatly help reduce the litter that ends up in our ocean.

Ocean Wise, a conservation organization on a mission to restore and protect our oceans, is focused on empowering and educating everyone from individuals to governments on how to protect our waters. They are making conservation happen through five big initiatives: monitoring and protecting whales, fighting climate change and restoring biodiversity, innovating for a plastic-free ocean, protecting and restoring fish stocks, and finally, educating and empowering youth. The non-profit believes that in order to rebuild a resilient and vibrant ocean within the next ten years, everyone needs to take action.

Become an Ocean Wise ally and share your knowledge with others. The more people who know how badly the ocean needs our help, the better! Now is a great time to commit to being a part of something bigger and get our oceans healthy again.

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