City of Cape Town Told Rescuers Not to Remove the Seal Before Clifton Attack Happened

• People were taken aback seeing a video of a young seal attacking beachgoers at Clifton Beach
• A seal rescuer claims the incident could have been avoided in the City of Cape Town had allowed the rescuers to remove the seal
• The City told the Hout Bay Seal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre not to remove the seal because it would have been upsetting for beachgoers to see

CAPE TOWN - The Clifton seal attack has taken social media by storm as the video of the incident spread like wildfire online. However, a seal rescuer says the biting incident could have been avoided had the seal been removed from Clifton Beach.

The incident took place on Tuesday, 3 December, after authorities received a report that two young seals were on the beach. One made its way back into the water, but the other remained on the beach.

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A video of the incident showed that moments before the attack happened, the young seal was wading back into the water when it suddenly turned and attack a child who was swimming nearby.

Disclaimer: The following footage may upset sensitive viewers. To watch the video, click here.

City calls off removal of seal fearing it may have upset beachgoers

Kim Krynauw, the operations director of the Hout Bay Seal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (HBSRC), said her organisation got the call to assist and remove the young seal.

The City of Cape Town subsequently told HBSRC to stand down because it felt it would be upsetting for beachgoers to see the animal carried away in the cage. Krynauw added that regardless of the lack of action, the attack was not the city's fault or the HBSRC's.

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According to IOL, authorities are still unclear about what provoked the seal to attack but the Cape of Good Hope SPCA is working with others in the field to determine the reason behind the seal's aggressive behaviour.

Massive wave hitting Durban Beach on video causes panic, Internet peeps recognise old video of SA disaster

In another story, Briefly News reported that a video shows Durban beaches being swept over by a tsunami-sized wave. The clip frightened people as they were convinced that it was true.

Online users helped others when they realised that the video could not be trusted. Netizens first pointed out that the video quality did not look like it was filmed in 2022.

A video posted by @sammysolucky shows a giant wave sweeping over a Durban beach. Some people fell for the video, but a few soon realised it was a video from 2017.

Source: Briefly News