A sick and injured seal who was nursed back to health after coming ashore at Williamstown has returned, much to the delight of locals.
Earlier this month, “Billy the Seal” was spotted near a running track on the Strand by Sherry Rich.
“I thought it was strange to see a young seal alone so I called Western Animal Rescue,” she said.
Billy was taken to Melbourne Zoo for X-rays and nursed back to health by the AGL Marine Response Unit.
Keeper James Uren said Billy had a nasty cut under his chin and a tennis-ball sized abscess under his left flipper. Fortunately, the infection hadn’t gone into his bone.
“He stayed with us for a few days just to get a bit of treatment on those wounds and a check-up,” Mr Uren said.
“After those few days it was deemed that his injuries had healed enough and he’d had some long-lasting antibiotic injections and we decided to release him.
“Our aim is to not keep them in captivity too long because we don’t want them to habituate to humans at all.”
It’s illegal to go within 30 metres of a seal on land or 50 metres on a man-made structure.
Billy, who is believed to be just 10 months old, was last week spotted sunning himself back at Williamstown – about 100 kilometres from where he was released at Point Lonsdale.
“He’s a pretty young seal so he’s pretty adventurous and probably just cruising out and around on his own” Mr Uren said.
“Once he’s sexually mature he will end up going to a colony and looking to breed, but for the time being a young seal like that is probably just going to be cruising along the coast …enjoying catching fish and playing around.”
