Sea Life Blankenberge released two grey seals, Nala and Frances, back into the sea in Ostend on Monday after they had both washed ashore weakened and injured in February.
Nala was found in Ostend with bite wounds from a dog weighing only 14.8 kg. Since then, the animal gained weight to a healthy 39 kg in Sea Life Blankenberge's seal sanctuary, Belga News Agency reports.
It was not the first time seals suffered bite wounds after interacting with walkers' dogs on the beach. "We had a tough period where we noticed seals wanting to rest on the beach being bitten by a dog," said Steve Vermote of Sea Life Blankenberge.
After an information campaign by Sea Life, the message appears to have gotten through to walkers with dogs. "We found that people learned the danger to seals, dogs, but also to themselves. Seals look cute, but they can be dangerous."
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The other seal, Frances, also washed up on the beach in early February, but in the Knokke-Heist municipality. The animal was severely weakened, had a high fever and weighed only 14 kg. Both seals had recovered sufficiently to be released back into the sea, in the presence of Osten mayor Bart Tommelein and North Sea minister Vincent Van Quickenborne.
Currently, three other seals are still staying at Sea Life's seal sanctuary.
