DANA BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay man who was attacked and bitten by a Cape fur seal during the late afternoon of Friday 8 August while fishing at Dana Bay's First Beach says he never saw the seal coming.
Roger Constance (58) was fishing with a friend when the seal suddenly appeared. His friend managed to capture a video showing the seal's aggressive behaviour.
On the footage, the seal can be seen attacking the fishermen's gear.
"I didn't even see him coming out of the water. I just heard a roar and it was suddenly near my face," says Constance. He tells Mossel Bay Advertiser he managed to hit it with a piece of iron he was using with his fishing bait.
He said the seal came towards him again, biting his knee and ankle. He fell over, but was able to get up and flee.
Luckily, he was not seriously injured.
Val Marsh, a committee member of the Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (Smart), told the Advertiser she was informed of the incident when someone sent the organisation the video footage.
Fishermen on Dana Bay's First Beach, where the seal bit Roger Constance. Photo: Gabriélla Siebritz
She said she immediately suspected the seal of having rabies, based on the aggressive behaviour it was displaying on the video.
"If it is rabies, I suspect it's in the late stages. It is possible the seal is already dead by now," she says.
It is believed the animal had retreated back into the water after the incident.
Marsh said if the seal's body were to wash up on the shore, Smart would be able to test it for rabies, as it requires looking at the animal's brain.
Rabies outbreak in Cape fur seals
Constance went to the Mossel Bay Provincial Hospital where he was administered a prophylactic injection to fight a possible rabies infection.
Marsh told the Advertiser that in December, all the hospitals in the Garden Route were alerted of the possibility of rabid seals and were told to check their stock of anti-rabies injections.
The Advertiser reported on a number of seal attacks at the time.
It's sister publication, George Herald, recently reported that the rabies outbreak in Cape fur seals in June last year can be traced back to the black-backed jackals in Namibia. From there, seal-to-seal transmission likely took place.
"Jackals are known to predate on seal pups along the Namibian cost, and researchers have taken photographs and videos of them biting seals, as well as getting in skirmishes with adult seals protecting their young," said the Western Cape Department of Agriculture's head of communication, Mary James.
The June 2024 outbreak marked the first time rabies had been recorded in South African Cape fur seals.
Smart has advised the public to exercise caution when a seal is spotted, whether the animal shows signs of aggression or not.
To report any seal sightings, contact Smart on its emergency line, 072 227 4715.
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