Cwmtydu Seal Pup News!!

Exciting news!! Cwmtydu has its first Atlantic grey seal pup of the season.

Several Sea Watch volunteers were allowed to help out Cwmtydu Bay Wildlife with watching the seal pup. The Grey seal pup is estimated to roughly be a week old, appearing on the beach on Sunday morning.

The seal watch involves keeping people and their dogs away from the seal as any disturbance to the pup can cause the mother to abandon it. This is because female seals rely on scent to identify their pups and abandonment can lead to the pup’s starvation or drowning. The pup will stay on the beach for up to three weeks, often venturing out into the sea but not for too long because their dense fur coat can become waterlogged and cause them to drown or become exhausted.

We were fortunate enough that both times we were seal watching we got to witness the mother hauling herself out of the sea to feed the pup. The milk the mother feeds the pup is the richest in the animal kingdom. She will feed it for around 18-21 days, during which the pup will triple in body weight. The mother will also lose half of her weight because she doesn’t feed herself during this time. After the 21 days the mother will leave the pup to become independent and fend for itself. Both mother and father were always present in the water, constantly popping their heads out to keep an eye on the pup.

Mother feeding her pup on the beach. Photo credit: Emma Powell

Atlantic grey seals are one of two seal species that we get here in the UK, the other being the common or harbour seal. There is a stable population of around 6,000 grey seals on the Welsh coast and 125,000 around the UK. Grey seals are larger than the common seal and have a distinctive roman nose with parallel nostrils. They are also darker in colour. The females have pelage on their coats, these are unique blotches and are used to identify the seals, much like how we use the dorsal fins to identify individual bottlenose dolphins. Females can grow between 1.6 and 2 metres in length compared to the males, which grow to over 2 metres long. Males weigh 350 kg compared to the females at 250 kg.

Seals were the first mammals to be protected by law under the Grey Seals Protection Act of 1914. Atlantic grey seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970: Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981. It is an offence to recklessly endanger or disturb these animals.

What to do if you have found an abandoned pup.

• Firstly, is it abandoned?
• Keep your distance and keep dogs away and under control
• Watch to see if the female returns. The pup may look like it has been abandoned but the mother is often close by in the water
• Do not touch the seal. Pups have sharp teeth and will bite you and adult seals can cause serious injury
• Do not return it to the sea. The pup is not stranded, seals often come ashore
• If you are concerned it is sick, injured or abandoned, there are a number of organisations you can call:
  • BDMLR hotline: 01825 765546 (office hours) or 07787 433412 (out of hours)
    RSPCA hotline (England & Wales): 0300 1234 999
    SSPCA hotline (Scotland): 03000 999 99

Photo credit: Liz Allyn