A grey seal pup has been spotted at South Walney Nature Reserve near Barrow. The pup was first seen by staff at Cumbria Wildlife Trust when looking through recent footage from their drone, which is used to survey seal numbers at the nature reserve.
Beth Churn, Marine Conservation Officer at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: We were very excited to see a patch of white fluff when we downloaded the latest drone footage from our survey – the pup was quite well hidden by seaweed so we hadn’t spotted it on our ‘on the ground’ survey so it shows the importance of the drone surveys! We did another ground survey today at South Walney and were able to confirm the sighting. The first pup of the season is always an exciting moment for us. Last year we recorded 7 so we’re hoping for a similar number this year.”
Beth continued: “This is a crucial time for the pup. At this age, they are very vulnerable to disturbance. If the parent seals are alarmed, they can flush into the sea and abandon their young. We obviously want to avoid this at all costs, so we urge any members of the public who are keen to see the pup to look at our seal cam for a close-up view. There’s no access to the beach where the seal pup is. Also keep an eye on our social media channels, we’ll be reporting when there are (hopefully!) more seal pups throughout the season.”
The Trust is urging sea users, particularly kayakers, anglers and small boats, to keep well back from the seal colony while they are resting on the beach and observe from a distance using binoculars. Stopping and approaching the seals too closely causes them to flush into the water and expend large amounts of energy that are required to keep them going through the winter.
There is strictly no access to the area of the nature reserve where the seal pup is, and so it is not possible to view the pup at South Walney Nature Reserve. However, the rest of the seals can be seen playing and fishing in the water at high tide, along with thousands of wintering wildfowl and wader birds, from elsewhere on the nature reserve. A new screened viewing point at South Walney allows people to get a better view of seals in the water, without disturbing wildlife. The nature reserve is open daily 10am to 5pm (4pm in winter). Please note only assistance dogs are allowed.
Female grey seals give birth in the autumn to a single pup. They usually return to their own place of birth to breed year on year in the same location. Towards the end of the weaning period the seals will mate again.
The mother will stay with the pup for a few weeks, feeding it with fat-rich milk, until it is weaned. During this time, the pup will gradually moult its thick white fur, revealing its adult coat with its own individual markings. After weaning, the pup may remain on the island for up to another few weeks or so before it is ready to head out to sea to forage for itself.
