A seal that had been sighted for about two weeks at Cascais Marina has died, the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (CRAM) revealed on its Instagram page.

The news was given by the centre through a story.

"Given the deteriorating health of the seal that was at Cascais Marina, our team was activated for its rescue," they began by saying, adding that, "in the first assessment, it was possible to see that there were several injuries and the prognosis was very reserved."

"Having carried out immediate transport, unfortunately, the seal did not survive," they concluded.

A post-mortem analysis will now be carried out to try to determine the possible causes that affected the animal's health.

Controversy

The presence of the seal in the Cascais Marina had generated some controversy, with a clear division between the opinion of activists and environmental authorities, according to a report by NM.

In a statement shared on its Instagram page, the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF) even said that the animal "appears to be young, healthy and without visible injuries," revealing that it was feeding "regularly" on fish and octopus and using the marina's rocks as a resting place.

In the same note, the entity stressed that this type of situation does not always require intervention, and the seal should be left in peace, as long as it did not show obvious signs of weakness.

Something that Miguel Lacerda, from the environmental association Cascaisea, never agreed with.

On social media, the activist commented on the seal's state of health over the days and, on December 11, had already revealed that it appeared to have difficulty climbing onto the rocks to rest. On the 15th, he reiterated his "concern" about the animal.

Then, on the 18th, he revealed that he had been alerted by a fisherman about the animal's "cry for help."

"Around 8:30 am I received a call from a fisherman from Cascais who was at the marina with his boat, informing me that the seal was right next to him, in a critical situation and unresponsive. I immediately went to the location," he began to recount.

"What I expected happened. Nobody monitoring the animal, nobody ready to act. ICNF shows once again that it's useless! Today I dedicated another 7 hours to the seal; its condition was truly worrying, it looked like it had fallen from the rocks (as I had said)," he accuses, revealing that the animal "had two bruises, couldn't stay in a normal position in the water, always on its side on its right flank, and whenever it tried to right itself it would return to the same position, which made breathing difficult."

Over 10 days, he reveals, Miguel Lacerda dedicated more than 62 hours to the seal, monitored its behaviour, and warned of the dangers it faced.

"They ignored it," he adds.

"I arranged a solution, but a company that would build a small platform for the seal to rest without the risks of the breakwater didn't want to. In these 10 days, I haven't crossed paths with anyone from ICNF or Ambiente Cascais. What are they for? Cascais has a huge sea that is completely ignored, mistreated, and undervalued by the municipality," he adds.

Warning

The activist also says that at 9 am he warned the Port Captain of the seriousness of the situation, but by lunchtime, nothing had yet been done. "At 1 PM I decided to prepare everything to rescue the seal (yes, it was done with materials I had on our boat "Clean the Sea" and in the pickup truck). At 1:20 PM we rescued the seal (without support from any entity). CRAM (from Aveiro) came to pick up the seal.

In the video of the moment, shared on Cascaisea's Facebook page, it's possible to see the animal near a boat, visibly ill. In it, a man can be heard saying: "It seems it came here to ask for help," and Miguel Lacerda nods.

However, on its Instagram page, the ICNF (Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests) assures (in capital letters) that the rescue was done at its request, due to the supposed "sudden change" in the animal's condition, contrary to Miguel Lacerda, who documented the entire process on social media.