© Liverpool Echo
Seal washed up in a field in Newton-le-Willows near Warrington, Cheshire
Seal washed up in a field in Newton-le-Willows near Warrington, Cheshire
The seal, which was discovered in Newton-le-Willows, near St Helens in Merseyside on Monday morning, was likely to have swum up to 50 miles away from its home before clambering into the fenced-off field from a nearby brook, experts said.
It was found in a "distressed" state by a dog-walker at about 9.45am, sparking a rescue operation involving the emergency services and the RSPCA as police warned locals to stay away from the "potentially dangerous" animal.
The creature, believed to be a juvenile male grey seal, was eventually coaxed into a trailer using mackerel as bait and taken to a wildlife centre for checks.
Farm owner Gary Watkinson, who owns the field where the seal was found, said: "We woke up this morning and found a seal in our field, which is quite unusual to say the least.
Comment: The idea that animals can predict earthquakes has ancient origins. In 373BC, the Greek historian Thucydides recorded that rats, dogs, snakes and weasels deserted the city of Helice in droves a few days before a catastrophic earthquake.
On the morning of December 26, 2004, Thai villagers noticed that buffalo grazing on the beach lifted their heads, pricked their ears and looked out to sea, then stampeded to the top of a nearby hill. For the villagers who chose to follow them, it was a live-saving move as the tsunami struck only minutes later. There have been hundreds of reports of animals seemingly foretelling catastrophe, sometimes hours and even days before it occurred. These include tales of bizarre behavior by wild beasts including elephants, antelopes, bats, rats and flamingos, plus stories of dogs refusing to go for their usual morning walk.