Mystery seal injuries

[chaggle]

http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.u...2010:27:35:460

A wide scale-investigation involving police and several other organisations is being carried out to discover why more than 35 badly scarred seal carcases have appeared on the north Norfolk coast.

All have a single smooth-edged cut that starts at the head and spirals around the body which is believed to have been caused by a blade of some sort. Post-mortem examinations have been carried out on two seals but the results are not yet known.

“The injuries do not appear to be consistent with propeller strikes. They would appear to be caused by some sort of rotating single blade within a channel or cowling or by the seals rotating past some form of static blade. And they were almost certainly killed shortly before they were found and within a few kilometres of where they were washed ashore.”

Any ideas what could have caused that?

More including a video and photograph

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-10962076

[asthmatic camel]

[DrS]

I didn't find it too easy to see from the photo, but it appeared to have been decapitated.

[chaggle]

I've been having a look round


or maybe



They are saying it's not a propeller but a bow thruster or ducted prop might do it. Maybe they should be looking for a new vessel operating in the area.

[chaggle]

A lot more detail in The Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ins-seals.html

[DrS]

Good grief. So it's happening in east Scotland too. WTF, as they say.

[skbuncks]

A lot more detail in The Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ins-seals.html

Windfarms, submarines, giant sharks... What IS killing Britain's seals?

Windfarms? Really? I know its the Daily Wail but come on...

skb

[Tony Williams]

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-11113877

The deaths of seals found washed up on the North Norfolk coast were caused by a boat's propeller, it has been discovered.

So far 39 common and grey seals have washed up in Blakeney, Morston and Wells since November.

The animals all suffered laceration-type injuries and post-mortem examination results show they were killed by a ducted propeller.

Scientists are now trying to find the boat and where it is travelling from.

[panama]

Interesting. Report on BBC radio yesterday had a Canadian scientist blaming sharks with a paper imminent. Can't find a reference to it after quick google

[Tony Williams]

Interesting. Report on BBC radio yesterday had a Canadian scientist blaming sharks with a paper imminent. Can't find a reference to it after quick google

I'm no expert, but the very deep, almost surgically neat spiral nature of the wounds means that a ducted prop sounds reasonable, but a shark attack sounds ridiculous. Unless sharks have started to operate boats with ducted propellers...