Lachlan Pritchard (above) from Australian Seabird Rescue observes an injured leopard seal that came ashore by Bellambi boat ramp yesterday.

The seal has a circular wound to its head thought to be from an attack by a cookiecutter shark.

Rescue volunteers hoped the seal would regain its strength by resting on the beach overnight. Pictures: KIRK GILMOUR

A wayward leopard seal that took refuge on a Wollongong beach yesterday may have been attacked by a shark.Suffering a head injury, the adolescent male leopard seal was spotted near Bellambi boat ramp early yesterday. Australian Seabird Rescue volunteer Leonie D'Aran arrived at the scene about 10am and identified the likely cause of the seal's unusual spherical head injury."He seems to have been attacked by a cookiecutter shark; they get hold of an animal and spin around, taking off a circle of flesh," she said.

GALLERY: Beached leopard seal at BellambiRarely moving and largely ignoring a small crowd, the seal had a future that was not looking promising, but the observations of a vet proved heartening.Paul Partland of Cannon and Ball Veterinary Clinic monitored the animal throughout the day and said its injury did not appear to be life-threatening."I don't think the wound would be causing him any pain at the moment," he said."We're going to give him some space and reassess him; it's likely that he'll leave of his own accord during the night but we'll check up on him if he's still here in the morning."While the animal's thick layer of blubber has been compromised, Mr Partland said there was a good chance it would survive."He's got a hole in his doona - he would be losing heat from his body so he's just resting and trying to warm up again before he heads back out," he said.Usually found in Antarctic waters, the seal is likely to have travelled north in search of food.If the seal had not returned to the ocean overnight, Mr Partland said it was important for people not to approach as it could become aggressive.

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Mauled leopard seal takes refuge at Bellambi

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