Couple rescue struggling seal pup stranded on beach

The common seal pup looked lonely and lost before it was taken to Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary.

A couple have rescued a struggling seal pup stranded on a beach near Bigton.

Jane Morton and her husband, John, spotted the lost and lonely looking animal on Spiggie Beach and decided to alert Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary.

The pair watched it for some time to see if there was any sign of a mother but when the pup started heading inland, Mrs Morton caught the seal and brought it north of Lerwick.

A member of staff at the Sanctuary said: “Maggie, as Jane called her, seems to be healthy, but very thin.

“She can only be a few days old and would not have survived for long without her mother to feed and protect her.

“We gave her an hour to settle and recover from her ordeal, during which she mostly slept.

“The determined way she sucked her front flipper demonstrated just how hungry she was, so we tubed her with rehydration fluid and fish porridge, which obviously came as yet another shock to the system and gave her the hiccups, after which she went into a deep, deep sleep.”

There are now four common seal pups at Hillswick, two males and two females.

“We’ll share news about the other three in the days to come, but so far they are all doing well.”