This year\'s first young grey seals appeared on the Polish coast. Emaciated and abandoned by their mothers, Cypelka and Kuzia will undergo rehabilitation in Hel sealarium. After a few weeks spent in the care of specialists, if their condition improves, they will be released back into the Baltic Sea.
"Two seal pups have been found on the Hel Peninsula" - said Katarzyna Pietrasik from WWF Polska. The first was spotted on the tip of the Hel Peninsula (Cypel Helski), the other in Kuźnica. This year\'s first pups have been named after the places where they were found - Cypelka and Kuzia.
Grey seals are born in late February and early March. Mothers leave young seals after two-three weeks, and the seal pups instinctively move to the sea in search of food. Therefore, most young seals on the coast can be found in the beginning of April, when young seals are being abandoned by their mothers. They are not always able to cope and start an independent life.
Both seals were emaciated. Cypelka weighed 13, and Kuzia 16 kilograms. "That\'s why the decision was made to transport them to the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography in Hel, where they will undergo rehabilitation in the seal clinic" - said Pietrasik. Following their rehabilitation in the Marine Station, in May or June, if their health permits, they will be released back into the Baltic Sea.
Each year WWF asks to immediately report spotted seal pups. Encountered seals must not be disturbed or approached. Stress, which we might induce, reduces the pup’s chances of survival. After receiving a report about a spotted seal, WWF Blue Patrol volunteers always got to the site. After the initial survey and reporting the condition of the seal to the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography, they remain close to the animal to ensure its peace and evaluate its condition.
Grey seal - together with harbour and ringed seal - is one of the three seal species in the Baltic Sea. One hundred years ago there were 100,000 grey seals in the Baltic. In the 1980s there were only 4.5 thousand. At that point the seals were covered by legal protection. In 2013, during the annual count of marine mammals, nearly 30 thousand grey seals were spotted. Most of them, more than 10 thousand, live in the area of the central islands of the archipelagos of Sweden.
PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland
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