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A second seal has tested positive for rabies in Mossel Bay.
The Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team (S.M.A.R.T.) confirmed that a rabies test of a Cape fur seal found at the Hartenbos River mouth on the 12th of August came back positive on Thursday.
The seal died before it could be euthanised.
S.M.A.R.T. spokesperson Val Marsh says the organisation was called out to the river mouth by a member of the public, who reported a Cape fur seal lying on the beach, looking ill.
Marsh said when S.M.A.R.T. volunteers arrived on the scene in Hartenbos, the seal had blood on its neck and chest and a bite wound on its head.
This follows an incident on the 17th of July when a seal swimming at a popular bathing spot in Mossel Bay showed aggressive behaviour and tested positive for rabies.
A spokesperson from the Garden Route SPCA (GRSPA) Elize Goosen has urged the public to remain vigilant regarding beach wildlife and to report any strange behaviour from seals.
Dead seals have been washing up along beaches in the Western Cape following an outbreak of rabies in the marine animals.
Cape Town coastal manager Gregg Oelofse believes this to be the first spread of rabies within a marine mammal population.
She says this is concerning and that rabies in seals is rare.
