South African loses nose to seal

People are warned not to go too close to seals

A seal has bitten off the nose of a woman who was trying to help it back into the sea after it got stranded on a beach in South Africa.

Elsie van Tonder is expected to undergo surgery after the young female seal disfigured her near George, a town 400km (240 miles) east of Cape Town.

Cape Fur Seals are a tourist attraction and have become used to humans.

But biologists warn that the animal, which is a predator, can be dangerous if approached too closely.

Ms van Tonder's nose was found after Saturday's attack but could not be reattached.

She had been helping move the seal along with several other people when it hissed, then bit her in the face and on the thigh.

They had been trying to roll the seal in a blanket to move it, South African website news24.com reports.

Herman Oosthuizen, a marine biologist with the Department of Environmental Affairs, told Reuters news agency that a seal bite had the potential to be fatal.

Dirk Wessels of Marine and Coastal Management said the seal had probably been irritated by the people's repeated attempts to get her back into the water.

"People should realise that seals are wild animals and can be dangerous," he said. "They should be left alone."