The cause of death of a juvenile Cape fur seal found on Muizenberg Beach last Thursday with suspected stab wounds remains “inconclusive” following an autopsy, says the SPCA.

The Hout Bay Seal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre was alerted to a seal in distress at the beach, according to its operations director, Kim Krynauw (“SPCA investigates Muizenberg seal death,” Sentinel, October 3).

Ms Krynauw told the Sentinel she suspected the seal had been attacked as a rescuer had noticed it might have been speared and it had a head injury.

“We’ve seen this pattern too many times. We appeal to people to stay away from seals and call us so that we rescue and then assess them to confirm if they have rabies,” she said.

Following a series of confirmed cases of rabies in Cape fur seals this year, the City has warned that rabies in the population should now be considered endemic (“Seal rabies now endemic, says City,” Sentinel, August 9).

Cape of Good Hope SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham told the Sentinel this week that there was no indication yet whether the seal at Muizenberg had rabies.

“We found four irregular superficial mid-dorsal wounds, which were without depth, on both sides of the body in the caudal region (by the flippers), as well as one small superficial wound on the head.

“The wounds were approximately each 20mm deep. There was no puncturing into the chest cavity or puncture of any internal organs,“ she said.

The only abnormalities that had been found in the seal’s organs were congestion in both lungs.

“We also saw some foam and a small amount of blood in the lower area of the trachea close to the lungs. The brain was also heavily congested. X-rays of the carcass revealed no broken bones or fractures.

“Cause of death of the animal remains inconclusive. The stomach was empty with one small ulcer forming, but no gut parasites were found,“ she said.

Tissue samples had been sent to the state veterinarian for rabies testing, she said.

Earlier this year, the Hout Bay Seal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre said it had seen an alarming increase in injured Cape fur seals ("Spike in number of injured seals, says support group,“ Sentinel, July 5).

At that time Ms Krynauw said: “We are seeing a lot of seals with broken lower jaws and also had a seal who had its face slashed off with a panga. We also find a lot of seals with fishing gut around their necks.

“These animals are killed daily, whether they are shot, stabbed or suffer panga injuries. They also experience starvation. It’s just horrific.”

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA is appealing for anyone with any information about the incident to contact them at 021 700 4158/9 or email inspectorate@spca-ct.co.za.

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Cause of Muizenberg seal’s death ‘inconclusive’, says SPCA