Seal takes wrong turn and heads for the hills

LONE SEA MAMMAL EMBARKS ON ASTONISHING MONTH-LONG SWIM TO THE ERYRI FOOTHILLS

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor [e-mail]

One of only two photos obtained of the seal on its Afon Conwy odyssey

WALKERS and anglers were left in disbelief at the sight of a lone seal swimming in a river miles from the sea.

The hapless youngster found itself heading in the wrong direction when it diverted up the Conwy estuary.

At one point the grey seal had swum beyond Betws-y Coed almost as far as Ffos Anoddun (Fairy Glen), some 13 miles upriver from the coast. It's unlikely expedition into Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park has now lasted the best part of a month.

In recent weeks, seal guardians have also received a single report of a grey seal swimming upstream on the River Dee.

This unconfirmed sighting was from Plas Madoc, Wrexham around half the way along the 70-mile river from the Dee estuary.

As seals must haul up on land for a third of each day, an ongoing watch is being kept on riverbanks deep in the Conwy countryside.

Despite sightings in places like Llanrwst, only a single video clip has so far emerged of the navigationally-challenged creature. This showed it to be a juvenile but its gender could not be established.