Early on a freezing, windy and sand swept beach a grey seal pup was fast asleep and shivering. It finally heard me going about my business but then went back to sleep, waking up now and then to see what I was doing. Later I sat down a few meters away, chatted a bit and then layed down as if to take a nap. He/she came to within a meter of me looking at me up and down especially curious of my feet/boots and still very sleepy. I moved away imagining it wanting to latch onto my breast or something. At that he gave me a hiss and soon went back to sleep. Checked in now and then, the pup sometimes was asleep facing into the sand/wind, sometimes asleep belly up soaking in the winter sun and seeming to have a fine day off waiting for the sea to calm down.

Next day I spotted the pup's mother sleeping soundly under a nearby dune, quite lovely with golden fur except for face and head which were black. Mom and pup both went hunting that day.

Beautiful Photo!

It must have been an incredible encounter. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, it looked dead at first lying on the freezing cold beach pelted by windblown sand, except for regular breathing and shivering,
seagulls looking longingly at possible dinner but not getting too close fearing becoming dinner.
Here's another grey seal pup on a wind swept beach, this one on the British coastline, eyes opened at the photographer --


[search.aol.com]|+John&imgSize=70744&hostName=www.johnstuartclarke.co.uk



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2011 02:54PM by loeve.

This pup could look menacing with mouth open as it did when I stood up to move to a safe distance. I'm not sure where this pic was taken --

Here's another seal pup "close up", a bit too close for all concerned maybe. The teeth look made for gripping fish --


[search.aol.com]

Here's one that was stranded and rescued, a grey seal about the same size and ability as the one I met. They're just weaned and barely able to haul themselves on land dragging their hind quarters along with just their undeveloped front legs. I think this little guy maybe just needs to be put back at the water's edge some place without major predators and on a descent day for fishing --

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks for posting this--what adorable creatures!

they are adorable, thats for sure, and im sure most who read this already know this, but thought id share it just in case... no matter what, do NOT touch a baby seal, even if you think its abandoned, do NOT touch it, call the local authorities who handle that sort of stuff in your area, if you touch a baby seal who isn't truly abandoned, then his mother will smell you on it and WILL abandon it! when volunteering with the marine mammal center back in my home town, that was the biggest problem we had, humans touching baby seals or sealions, and we would have to take care of them till they where old enough to be re-introduced back into the wild... the really really young ones where the hardest to care for...even doing our best, we weren't equipped for ones that young, so some would be lost...its really sad...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Oh, I did notice that handlers of seal pups wear rubber gloves. Maybe that's the reason.

I just learned we have laws here saying we're not to get within 150 feet of marine mammals. It's to help them get re-established after generations of nearly being wiped out.

We're trying to learn here how to get along with seals. "Don't feed the seals" is another caution along with "humans and seals don't mix" signs.

There are youtubes of diving with seals which looks fun but I read they can be aggressive. Great white sharks are back in the region following the growth in seal population which could keep me out of the water anyway!





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2011 06:29PM by loeve.

woo! great whites are scary! hahahaha, fun to see when you see one though,lol... in that terrifying sort of way,LOL... ive had some fun with sharks be4, its scary stuff,lol... would never dive with seals though, they are to unpredictable,lol... sealions more so, they are much bigger, and more aggressive...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?