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SAC Update on Mysterious Seal Deaths - New blog will help you keep up with investigation

SAC News Release Ref. No: 10N61
Published: 27 Aug 2010

Illustration of a spiral seal lesion (opens in new window)

SAC veterinary pathologists investigating the recent ‘corkscrew’ injury seal deaths have launched a blog to help shed light on the mystery. The blog can be accessed on the SAC website.

SAC Consulting Veterinary Division, Wildlife Unit in Inverness is working in partnership with the University of St Andrews’ Sea Mammal Research Unit to identify the cause of distinctive injuries recently suffered by a number of seals. The SAC unit has carried post mortems on five seal carcasses.

In response to recent press reports the Unit has received a number of calls from fishermen and marine industry experts proposing theories about how the seals were killed. Suggestions have included shark attack, dredging equipment, marine propulsion thrusters, monofilament fishing lines and even radio aerials and wire-guided torpedoes from military submarines.

The new Corkscrew Seal Lesions Blog will provide updates from the SAC pathologists should any further carcasses be discovered and, it is hoped, promote further public discussion about the possible cause of the deaths.

The vet in charge of the SAC-led Scottish Marine Mammal Strandings Scheme, Dr. Andrew Brownlow said: “We have heard a great range of interesting theories about the cause of the lesions and although we think there is good evidence pointing to the injuries having been caused by something heavy and mechanical, we don’t often see any damage to the bones or harder body structures. The depth of  lesions is the same depth along the length of the seals’ bodies, so there may be some other process at work here”.

“We are continuing to keep an open mind and our aim is that the blog will help us get closer to identifying the cause of the seal deaths by giving people the opportunity to comment. It will also allow anyone who finds another carcass with these lesions to report it to us so we can examine it.”

For more information, please contact Dr Andrew Brownlow on 01463 246044.

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News Release Contacts

SAC Contact

Dr Andrew Brownlow
Veterinary Epidemiologist
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work Epidemiology Research Unit, SAC, Drummondhill, Stratherrick Road,
Inverness
IV2 4JZ
TelWork 01463 246044
Fax 01463 236579

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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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