Pensioner Finds Seal Sunbathing In Her Back Garden

Aug 02, 2021 by apost team

For those of us with backyards, it's common to find animals passing through, even wild ones depending on where you live. In more urban areas that might be a bird or squirrel, while in more remote regions that could be anything from a snake to a moose. But one animal that a woman in land-locked Lincolnshire, England never expected to find in her backyard was a seal. However, that's exactly what she woke up to one morning when she spotted the water mammal sunbaking in her backyard!

Pensioner Anne Page was the homeowner who came upon the seal on a Tuesday morning. The 72-year-old had gone outside to water her plants in her back garden when she saw the animal on her patio. After a brief staring competition, the septuagenarian went back inside before coming out again to grab another look, as she couldn't quite believe her eyes.

It's no wonder she couldn't believe it, since Page lives about 20 to 30 miles from the sea! She deduced that the seal, who's been nicknamed Dandy Dinmont, must have gotten to her town of Billinghay by swimming up the River Witham. In fact, residents of the town had spotted Dandy catching fish along the river in the previous months.

But surprisingly, it's not the first time the adventuring seal has been in the news lately — in September last year she hitched a ride with a paddle boarder during a lesson! Video footage of the moment showed Dandy hop on board as the female paddleboarder looked both slightly scared and was grinning with laughter. Let's take a look at Dandy's recent encounters.

It was 7:30 am in Billinghay when Page went outside to tend to her garden. She told the Daily Mail:

"I went out to water my plants in the back garden just after 7.30am and straight away I saw the seal on my patio. We were just staring face to face. I put down my watering can, went back inside and then went out again as I couldn’t quite believe my eyes."

It's no wonder she couldn't believe what she was seeing — Billinghay is landlocked, so there was no business for a seal to be in the area, let alone Page's backyard! She continued telling the Mail:

"We must be at least 20 or 30 miles from the sea so it was a real surprise. I had cut down the reeds at the end of my garden which allowed her to get up. She must have swum all the way up the main River Witham and then into the River Skirth which is another four miles to us."

Page did what anyone else would do — called for help, specifically her son Rob, who later stated that the seal seemed "very tame and quite relaxed." He alerted local police, who sent PC Martin Green to the garden. Green enlisted an RSPCA inspector to help him and together they were able to usher Dandy into a kennel. Green spoke of their efforts to the Mail:

"I would say she weighed 60 to 70kg. It was not easy to get her into a kennel in the back of his (the inspector’s) van. This is very rare. I have dealt with three seals in my 23 years of policing." 

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It was later revealed that other residents of Billinghay had spotted Dandy catching fish at the local river in the months prior to her appearance in Page's backyard. Officer Green added:

"The RSPCA have received numerous reports about this seal, nicknamed Dandy, but whenever they have turned up they cannot find her."

The Sleaford Police told Apost that Dandy had been living in Tattershall Bridge and had made her way inland by traveling along the Billinghay Skirth. After she was put in the kennel by Green and the RSPCA inspector, Dandy was transported via an air-conditioned van to Fosdyke before being released back into the water near a grey seal colony in the River Welland.

But this incident wasn't Dandy's first time causing mischief — back in Sep. 2020, she made headlines when she tried to get a paddleboarding lesson for free when she jumped on the back of a student's board. The instructor, Phil May, was able to capture the moment on camera, leading Dandy to her first viral moment. She clearly loved being in the spotlight since she's already back making the news.

One of seven seal pups rescued in 2017 by the RSPCA, Dandy and her siblings were all named after different breeds of dogs. She was originally found by the RSPCA at East Mersea Island in Essex.

Considering her love of the limelight, who knows whether this is the last we'll hear of Dandy. Going off her track record, it surely won't be, so keep your eyes peeled if you live in the area!

Have you ever found an unexpected animal in your backyard? What would you do if you found a seal? Pass Dandy's story on so others can find out about her adventurous antics too!