Mystery find of headless seals and penguin on beach

Two baby seals and a penguin, all three without heads, were found on Table View beach yesterday.

Because of the advanced stage of decomposition, it is not known whether they were killed intentionally by humans or had fallen prey to sharks.

SPCA inspector Kira Joshua said a veterinarian would examine the seal pups today to determine the cause of death.

Darden Lotz of bird conservation group Sanccob, who also examined the animals, said one of the seals had half of its skull missing, while the entire head of the other seal was missing.

"The penguin had the whole top part of its body missing, down to its flippers," she said.

Mike Meyer, of Marine and Coastal Management, said one of his staff found "nothing suspicious" about the carcasses.

"At this time of the year, it is not uncommon to find dead seal pups on the beach, because they have a 30% mortality rate," said Meyer. - Environment Writer.