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Anglers meet new Nene seal as he eats their fish
A PAIR of anglers having a bad day at the river could not believe their eyes when they discovered the reason for their poor luck.
A PAIR of anglers having a bad day at the river could not believe their eyes when they discovered the reason for their poor luck.
Keen fishermen Jake Waterman and Kevin Turner were relaxing at their regular pitch at Orton Mere on Sunday afternoon, when a seal poked his head above the water.
The seal was first spotted by Mr Waterman (19), from Woodston, at about 2.30pm.
He said: "When it first popped up, I couldn't believe it. Everyone just stopped what they were doing. I called Kevin over to have a look, and he didn't believe me."
Mr Turner (44), from Bretton, said: "When Jake called over I looked at him as if to say 'yeah right.'
"But then when I turned round there he was. I was a bit astounded to be
honest, but it is nice to see wildlife like that."
Mr Waterman, who said he has been fishing at Orton Mere for the last six years, said he was sure that the seal was not Sammy, who visited Peterborough last summer.
He said: "He had no markings on him, but I am convinced it was not Sammy. It would be too much of a coincidence for the same seal to make its way up the river.
"I think that with the high tides from all the rain we have been having, he probably just swam through some of the locks to get here."
The seal, which has been named Serge, proved to be quite a crowd pleaser, with a large number of people gathered to watch.
Mr Turner added: "There were quite a few families out on their Sunday afternoon walk, and many of them gathered on the bridge to watch. The seal seemed to be playing in the rapids, and kept on diving down to catch fish. The only problem was it took all our fish, so we hardly caught anything. But you don't mind for something like this."
The seal had been spotted earlier this month by cyclist Steve Farrell (36).
As he rode over the bridge on his way to work. He said: "I just noticed its head sticking out of the water as I cycled over the bridge, so I stopped to have look.
"I called the RSPCA in case it was lost or distressed, but they said seals do find their way into rivers at this time of year, looking for fish."
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Weather for Peterborough
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
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