Pup numbers boom at English seal colony

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/19/seal-pup-numbers-england-colony-blakeney-point

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A grey seal colony has seen the number of pups born each year increase a hundred-fold in just 14 years to become the biggest breeding site for the animals in England.

North Norfolk’s Blakeney Point, managed by the National Trust, saw 2,426 seals born this year, almost double the number born there two years ago.

National Trust experts put the success of the colony, which has grown exponentially since the first 25 pups were born there 14 years ago, down to the remote, sheltered beach which is safe from predators and other disturbances.

To prevent walkers disturbing the seals, which can increase the chance of fighting among the adults and lead to the pups being crushed, National Trust rangers and volunteers have fenced off part of the beach and dunes and introduced viewing areas.

National Trust rangers monitor the colony, tracking and recording seal pups born throughout the winter from November. The young seals are expected to be on Blakeney Point until the end of January.

Ajay Tegala, National Trust coastal ranger at Blakeney, said this season had been “absolutely incredible”.

“It’s breathtaking to see such large numbers. Having first been here five years ago you can see how much it has increased in such a short space of time. It really is mind-blowing to see the change.

“Blakeney is the perfect site for grey seals, not least because of the absence of predators and the relative remoteness which keeps disturbance to a minimum.

“On top of that, it’s a safe place with a sheltered, sandy beach providing plenty of space to support the large numbers, which keeps mortality rates low.”

He said that in December 2013, seal rookeries across England were devastated by a tidal surge hitting coastlines, but at Blakeney the height of sand dunes protected the colony and the grey seals were barely affected.

An intimate view of the colony will be available on the BBC’s Winterwatch, which begins on Monday today, including shots using thermal imaging techniques for the first time to film the reserve at night when the seal pups are born.

Elsewhere, the National Trust also saw a successful breeding season for seals on the Farne Islands, off the Northumberland coast, with 1,651 pups born this year - the highest total on the islands since 1971.