Seal woman 'foolish'
2005-11-01 08:27
Tisha Steyn
George - Elsie van Tonder, 49, whose nose was bitten off by a seal, apparently acted "foolishly", an eyewitness to the incident said.
Van Tonder thought she was helping the female seal lying on rocks in Herold's Bay and tried to get it back into water.
Sanet Wessels from George, who was on the beach in Herold's Bay on Saturday, said Van Tonder was "personally responsible" for the injury she sustained.
"Mrs Van Tonder and her daughter, who allowed her one-year-old daughter to stroke the seal, were both negligent.
"The seal lifted its head and was swinging too and fro.
"What would have happened if the seal had bitten the baby?
"I have goose bumps just thinking about it, because I don't think the baby would have got off lightly."
Van Tonder accused the SPCA and nature conservation department on Sunday of negligence.
Wessels said she wondered whether Van Tonder was expecting nature conservation to put the animal down because of a mother's "foolish decision to help an animal that didn't want to be helped".
The seal is often on the beach at Herold's Bay, Ina Steyn, a resident, said on Monday. "She normally swims in the tidal pool but often comes out on the beach. This morning she was lying here in front of our house before going back into the water.
"There were people who wanted the garbage truck to pick up the seal and take it away.
"But mostly people think the seal is very cute. They should leave it alone, however."
Doctor Beverley Pedro, superintendent of George Hospital, said Van Tonder is in a stable condition.
She will be taken via ambulance to Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town on Tuesday to undergo plastic surgery.
Van Tonder is being sedated to help to ease the pain.
Elsie van Tonder's nose was bitten off by a seal.
- Die Burger