'Hair-raising trip' for bald seal

If Sahara recovers he will be released into the wild in Greenland

A rare hooded seal found washed up on a beach in the Canary Islands has been flown to a Cornish sanctuary for medical treatment.

The nine-month-old seal, found in Tenerife, was hundreds of miles from its natural home in the Arctic.

The malnourished animal, which had lost its fur, had been cared for at a Tenerife marine centre for four months.

But the pup, named Sahara, is still completely bald and is now being treated at the Gweek Seal Sanctuary.

"Sahara has an under-active thyroid and has been brought to the sanctuary for a full veterinary assessment," said Tamara Cooper, a senior animal care assistant.

He's keeping his distance from the other seals Tamara Cooper, Gweek Seal Sanctuary

"We have a number of seals suffering from this condition, so we'll be doing blood tests and monitoring his progress over the next few months."

Hooded seals are a migratory species. Their native waters are in the Arctic and although they do occasionally visit Europe, Ms Cooper said it was unusual for one to end up on the coast of Morocco.

"He definitely went a bit further afield than normal," she told BBC News.

"Sahara's settling in, although he's been a bit stunned by all the visitors.

"He's keeping his distance from the other seals at the moment, but he's doing really well and feeding well too."

If the rare seal makes a full recovery, he will be taken to Greenland and released back into the wild.