BRIGG SEAL NOW RE-HOMED BUT HOW RARE WAS ITS VISIT TO OUR RIVER?

The young seal that came to live in the River Ancholme in Brigg has now been caught by a rescue organisation and returned safely to the River Humber.
A social media update explained it needed to have a hook and lure removed from its mouth by a vet.
This rare visitor to our local waterway, which gained access from the River Humber at South Ferriby during low tide, has created major interest.
Yesterday we noted a number of people walking the towpath and the nearby Ancholme Valley Way footpath in the hope of catching a glimpse of the seal in search of fish.
But on this occasion is was not evident on the stretch from the County Bridge as far as The Point where the two rivers meet.
Ken Harrison, of Brigg Matters magazine, has contacted us to say he understands this seal was first spotted in the Ancholme several weeks ago, although the initial sightings were dismissed as being off an otter.
Someone who was out of the water to the north of the town later confirmed it was indeed a seal.
Ken says the presence of a seal may be fairly rare in the modern era "but before the Ancholme drainage scheme, circa 1650, the Ancholme was a natural, shallow inlet of the Humber.  
"It was tidal and it is likely that seals ventured inland. It is not unusual for seals to swim 30 odd miles up-river..they tend to follow the food supply (the River Ouse, etc)
"In land-locked Cambridgeshire, flood water encouraged a seal inland and it now lives quite happily in a lake."