Reports of a number of dead seal pups at Goolwa and Port Elliot are not unexpected or unusual for this time of the year, according to a marine expert.

At least four deal seal pups have been reported in the last week, including two at Goolwa Beach and two at Port Elliot. Another (live) pup with orange string tangled around its neck has been spotted at Middleton.

Aaron Machado of Australian Marine Wildlife Research Rescue Organisation (AMWRRO) says that at this time of the year seal pups are making their first journeys without their mothers.

They are catching their own food for the first time and can become emaciated and run down and more susceptible to hazards.

He said the pups often they needed to rest on beaches but were harassed by people and dogs and forced back into the water when they should be recuperating.

Mr Machado said it would be helpful if people kept their dogs close and under control when walking on beaches, so they didn’t come into close contact with seals trying to rest.

The two dead seal pups on Goolwa Beach were spotted by a walker last Thursday and reported to council. 

Another was discovered by children digging near the Surf Life Saving Club at Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot on Sunday. The fourth, which was less than a metre long and very emaciated was found nearby, next to the breakwater at Ladies Beach.

The pup spotted at Middleton Beach yesterday with orange string around its neck returned to the water before it could be helped.

If you spot the seal pup with the string, or any other marine mammals in distress, contact AMWRRO on 0411 057 551.