Distressed seal spotted tangled up in buoy ropes rescued by restaurant manager in Argyll

A distressed seal which became tangled in buoy ropes has been saved by a local hotel restaurant manager in Argyll.

David Johnston, who works at The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin, was videoed freeing the “scared” seal after it became tangled up in ropes from a buoy on Loch Linnhe.

The duty manager at the hotel, Vilmantas Siaulys, was alerted to the distressed seal by a supervisor on Saturday morning around 8am.

Mr Siaulys immediately contacted his colleague Mr Johnston, who is also an experienced waterman, who rushed to the the scene with his kayak to help the seal.

David Johnston, restaurant manager at The Pierhouse Hotel, helping a distressed seal. Supplied

“I called David and he came straight away, he’ll sometimes go out during high tide in that area to catch lobsters for customers,” Mr Siaulys said.

Mr Johnston tried to catch the seal for around 15 minutes before he was able to get close enough to slowly unravel it.

“It seemed really scared, so it took me a while to even get close enough for the seal to realise I wasn’t going to hurt it,” Mr Johnstone told STV News.

“I had to slowly unravel it with one hand so I could keep steady but once it calmed down it became easier.”

The restaurant manager said that the seal was quite small, adding that he was “relieved” it wasn’t bigger as it could’ve easily tipped him over.

Mr Johnston said that ferrymen came over to help him but by that point the seal was almost freed.

Once freed, the seal swam away “quickly” and he hasn’t seen it stop by since, however, the ferrymen told Mr Siaulys that they had seen the seal return to the area the day after the incident.