VIEW from a distance and do not touch... That’s the urgent plea from a marine charity to anyone who spots Teignmouth’s resident grey seal basking out of the water.

The Cornwall-based Seal Research Trust has issued advice about the dangers of human interaction with the aquatic mammal who has been the focus of a lot of public attention on the South Devon coast over the past few months.

The trust’s director and founder, Sue Sayer, said: ‘The animal is a juvenile male wild grey seal who started visiting beaches in the Dorset area during lockdown before heading west down the coast to Devon.

‘He needs to rest on land to digest any food he has been able to catch, but he still has to learn what to eat and how to catch it.

‘At the moment he’s in the first 18 months of his life and these are the riskiest months for a young seal. He needs space and peace to rest properly to get through this tricky time.

‘Unfortunately human curiosity has led to a lot of interactions with this young seal, most of which are bad for him and potentially dangerous for us and our dogs.’

Two other seal conservation groups, the Seal Project and British Divers Marine Life Rescue, have joined forces with the Seal Research Trust to share information about the best way to help ensure this seal’s health and well-being.

Sue: ‘Our advice it to keep well away from him – if he is looking at you, he has been disturbed.

‘Having to remain alert wastes this young seal’s energy, as his heart and breathing rates will be high.

‘We urge people to keep dogs on a lead and on no account should anyone try to feed him.’