NATURE
The Cornwall Seal
Group Research Trust’s
database contains more
than 16,000 sightings
- Email sightings and photos of
seals in south-west England to
[email protected] - If you’re worried about a seal,
call British Divers Marine Life
Rescue on 01825 765546. - Don’t get too close to wild
seals. This especially applies to
hauled-out seals, and mothers
with pups.
IF YOU FIND A SEAL
TOP: Feeding time
at the Cornish
Seal SanctuaryABOVE: Michelle
Clement and
Simon Dolphin
of British Divers
Marine Life
Rescue rehydrate
a grey seal pup
at Crackington
Haven, north
Cornwallshows that grey seal numbers have increased since records
began but stabilised over recent years. Population estimates
are based on counts of pups, yet with very little data on
survival rates, the potential for error is significant.
“Pup mortality can be very high,” says Sue. “On the east
coast, 247 pups were washed off a beach in one night during
a storm surge.” Life is tough for the adults too, which are
at risk from seal pox; infections such as septicaemia and
peritonitis; disturbance at haul-outs; entanglement in lost
fishing gear; and chemical pollutants such as polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), levels of which are monitored closely in
whales and dolphins but not in the UK’s grey seals.
Sue is of the firm opinion that there are far fewer seals
nowadays. “Of course
there are. Historic
accounts tell us that
fishermen once had
to wade through seals
to reach their boats in
Mousehole Harbour
near Penzance.”The Cornwall Seal
Group Research Trust’s
database now contains
more than 16,000
sightings, including
records of thousands
of individually identified seals. Among them are undoubtedly
many animals that have since died, and a good number of
duplicates – seals are often identified several times from different
camera angles before Sue links their patterns up.MONITORING SEAL MOVEMENT
These records make it clear that these are not simply
Cornish seals. Collaboration with organisations such as
the RSPB, the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust of
South and West Wales has shown that grey seals repeatedly
commute between south-west Wales and south-west
England, and Sue recently snapped a seal she knew from
Cornwall across the channel in Brittany. Satellite and flipper
tags also show that seals move to Ireland.
The data has other surprises. The received wisdom is
that female grey seals return to pup on the beach where
they were born, but Sue finds this isn’t always the case. Of
the 44 known seals recorded commuting between south-
west England and Skomer in Pembrokeshire, two mums
have pupped in both places. And, contrary to expectations
that males disperse to avoid inbreeding, Sue’s data seems to
suggest that at some bigger sites males stick around a little
longer than females. She’s keen to find out why.
Sue is also a volunteer for British Divers Marine Life
Rescue, often working with area co-ordinator Dave Jarvis,
who lives nearby. A freelance quantity surveyor, Dave says
that his regular clients are used to him disappearing for his
‘other job’. He’s on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and in
pupping season the messages can come thick and fast.
Grey seals usually pup in autumn – in Cornwall, any time
from September to December. The females suckle their
white-coated pups on milk almost rich enough for a