‘Surprised’ angler nets seal 20 miles from the sea at Horning

An intrepid seal pup which had made its way 20 miles (32km) up river was rescued after landing in an angler’s keep net on the Broads.

The “surprised” fisherman was in a rowing boat on the River Bure at Horning, Norfolk, on Boxing Day when the grey seal popped up and went for his catch.

After following the fish into the keep net, the “significantly” underweight seal was rescued by charity volunteers and taken to RSPCA East Winch, near King’s Lynn, where it was said to be doing well.

“This has to be one of the strangest seal rescue stories of the year,” said Friends of Horsey Seals.

“I took the call just before 8am – the fisherman was in his little rowing boat, he’d caught a fish and he was trying to get it into his keep net and the seal went in behind the fish,” said volunteer Sally Butler.

“The pup was only 12kg when, at this point, they need to be 30 to 45kg, so we took it to East Winch.

“As long as it starts feeding for itself, hopefully it will be OK.”

The “remarkable” rescue was one of 49 calls the charity received on Friday.

Ms Butler explained the high number of calls was typical for this time of year, the charity’s busiest time, as thousands of grey seals are born on the stretch of coast around Sea Palling, Horsey and Winterton-on-Sea near Great Yarmouth.

Youngsters were already on the move and sometimes caused concern among well-meaning visitors but generally did not need assistance, Ms Butler said.

Retrieving a seal so far inland like the poorly pup in Horning, however, was rare.

While seals regularly make their way upriver, moving a healthy, uninjured animal – no matter where it may have ended up – was difficult and required a licence, Ms Butler said.

The BBC has contacted the RSPCA for comment.