Unwell seal pup flown from Scilly to sanctuary

An underweight and lone seal pup has been flown from the Isles of Scilly to a seal sanctuary in Cornwall.

Alison Davey, from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, said the pup was about five days old and had been initially spotted alone on an inaccessible beach on Tresco on Friday.

The female pup made its way to St Mary's harbour but rescuers said she was underweight and alone, so they asked Penzance Helicopters if they could manage an extra passenger on Saturday.

The pup, which has been called Grub, was taken to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek.

Rescuers said Grub was "progressing well" and was on a diet of fish soup four times a day.

Ms Davey told BBC Radio Cornwall: "The pup was clearly underweight, it only weighed 13kg (28.6lbs) and it still had its umbilicus so it was, we reckon, probably four to five days old.

"It has a full white of coat, which they have for the first three weeks, and it had not started to moult."

She said Penzance Helicopters had "bent over backwards" to help ensure the pup got the timely care it needed.

A spokesperson for Penzance Helicopters said: "It's not always about supporting the islands with a lifeline link for people, sometimes we get a curve ball and we are always happy to help."

Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].