WATCH: Cape Fur Seal on the mend after rescue in Amanzimtoti

A local angler says the seal had spent weeks biting bait off fishing lines in the waters off Amanzimtoti.

Cape Fur Seals usually breed in Algoa Bay, but during sardine season, some make their way up the coast chasing the shoals.

Those who spotted him say the two-year-old semi-acquatic mammal quickly learned that baited hooks were easy pickings.

However, it came at a painful cost.

Fishermen had been trying to rescue him for weeks, but the little marine creature kept slipping away.

On Thursday night, local beach manager Jace Govender went full stealth mode and managed to catch him.

"Every time we got close to him, he disappeared. Every time we came next to him, he turned on his side and he waves goodbye to us. I said, 'Okay, If he can see us the next time, he will not see us in the dark'. So last night I decided to take a drive on the beach and went looking for him. I found him about 800 meters from where he normally is.

“He found a quite secluded spot and was chilling on the beach. I took a net, which was supplied specifically for seal capture and put myself between the water and him, and walked up to him while he was asleep and captured him."

uShaka Marine World curator Gabby Harris says seven hooks were removed from his mouth and body. She says he's recovering at the water theme park.

" We've got radiographs, which show that there are hooks inside his stomach, in the oesophagus. So that's not good news, but at least he's with us and we'll do our best to sort him out. He's already eating from us, which is actually usually pretty difficult to teach an animal to eat.

'He's in good health, he's got a good appetite, so that's always good news."

Harris is warning the public not to approach seals on the beach as they can carry rabies. 

She says it's best left to professionals.

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