Rare seal spotted at West Worthing Beach - See amazing video footage
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Retired BBC producer Helen Cramer, 65, was shocked when she looked out the window of her flat, overlooking the seafront, and spotted the rare mammal on Saturday afternoon (July 2) – but she initially thought it was a swimmer.
“I’ve got a marvellous bird’s eye view of the sea,” she said.
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Hide Ad“I thought it was a swimmer. They were going quite fast and when I looked again and it had dived down.
"It hadn't come out back out of the water three minutes later. I got my binoculars out and saw it was a seal.”
Helen said she has become ‘so used to seeing wonderful things’ whilst living in Worthing but this was the first time she had spotted a grey seal.
According to The Wildlife Trusts, the grey seal lion (Halichoerus grypus) can be distinguished from the common seal by its larger size and longer head with a sloping 'roman nose' profile.
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Hide AdHelen suspects the seal made an appearance because there were no swimmers in the water at the time.
She added: “I couldn't believe it. I was so thrilled.
"It was absolutely lovely to see. It’s incredible really.”