Albino seal to go back to the sea

Whitebeam should be fine back in the sea, staff said

A rare albino seal pup, rescued off the coast of Lincolnshire, is expected to be released back into the sea at the end of February.

The seal was washed up on a beach near Sutton-on-Sea in December.

Staff at the Natureland Seal Sanctuary in Skegness have nursed the seal, which they have called Whitebeam, back to full health.

He was suffering from lungworm which affected his ability to dive underwater to catch fish.

Sunburn worries

Duncan Yeadon, from the sanctuary, said the pup's chances of survival would not be affected by it being an albino.

"He hasn't been picked on in the pool here by any of the other seals, so I don't think there's any danger of that," he said.

"As far as the sunburn angle on albinos is concerned, I don't think that affects the seals so much because it's white fur rather than white skin.

"And with him being in the water all the time as well, it's not really going to affect him, so he should be fine."