Pupping season is Here!
Grey Seal Pup Alert!
Please click the link below if you would like to support our operation costs for this new rescue season! Without the support and generosity of donors like you, our work would not be possible.
Best Advice to Help Protect Seal Pups Born on Irish Beaches – Give Seals Space
Grey Seal Pupping Season started several weeks early this year with Seal Rescue Ireland receiving calls and conducting rescues as early as the 8th of August. As Grey Seal Pupping season has begun we will see more newborn and young pups popping up across the coast. We need YOUR HELP to keep them safe!
Popular walking and swimming spots are in particular need of protection and the best way to ensure the safety of newborn pups is to give them space. Mums and pups need to stay together for the first 3 weeks of a pups life, during this time mum will be nursing their pup whose only job is to rest and pack on the blubber it needs to survive in the wild!
Disruptive human activity can frighten away nursing mothers. Approaching, crowding or disturbing seal pups can deter the mother seal from returning to shore to feed her pup, leading to orphaning. This type of activity also has the potential to scare the young inexperienced pups into the water. Grey Seal Pups are born with a white fluffy coat to keep them warm and protected. While white and fluffy their coat is not waterproof, and when wet can become heavy and cold and strong sea conditions can be difficult for young pups to manage. Seal pups will begin to moult their coat around 3 weeks old, at this stage they should have enough blubber and strength to enter the sea and fend for themselves. In the meantime we want to ensure mums and pups can stay together, prevent orphaning and make sure pups feel safe to rest on land.
If you spot a seal pup alone, please don’t worry and please keep your distance. It is normal for Grey Seal Mums to leave her pup to rest on land for several hours or extended periods at a time while she returns to the water. The mum will return to nurse and will often keep a close eye on the pup from the sea. It is always worth giving the Seal Rescue Ireland Rescue Hotline (087 1955393) a call and to provide them with photos and videos to assess the pups condition. If a pups weight does not look immediately concerning and there are no obvious injuries, Seal Rescue Ireland volunteers will monitor for a period of time in order to allow every opportunity for a mum and pup to reunite.
Alongside our active rescue and rehabilitation work we put huge efforts into actively trying to prevent the need for rescues. We do this through our education programme, through positive environmental actions like beach cleans and habitat restoration, and by regularly monitoring and safeguarding pups and mums around the coastline during pupping seasons. While we can care for orphaned pups – it is not comparable to the natural care of a seal mum, who provides vital nutrients through her high fat milk, packed full of essential antibodies, that help build up the pups immune system. By ensuring mums and pups can stay together, we ensure pups can get the strongest start to life!
SRI urges the public not to approach or touch pups or to attempt to put them in the sea. We advise all beach goers to please keep dogs on leads and remain AT LEAST 100m distance where possible from seal pups and nursing mothers. If a seal is looking at you, you are already too close! We would appreciate your assistance in keeping seals from needing to be rescued by remembering to always give wildlife space.
Please help us spread the word, follow the guidelines of our infographic attached and contact our 24/7 Rescue Hotline on 0871955393 if you encounter a pup that you think might need help!
For more info, visit: sealrescueireland.org/our-work/rescue
GREY SEAL PUP WATCH 2024 🦭
Over the past weeks, our Rescue Network volunteers have been out all along the coast keeping an eye on seal pups and their mums, safeguarding them from disturbance through active engagement and education with members of the public. September was a wonderfully successful month along the coast in terms of the protection of mum and pup pairs thanks to our amazing Rescue Network volunteers! We have loved getting regular updates on mums and pups remaining together all along the coast, and we thought you would love to see some photos of the plump pups we have received over the past few weeks! We want to say a huge thank you to our volunteers and the wonderful communities who have been putting in huge efforts to protect these wonderful animals in their natural environment. Seeing these pups grow over the past weeks with their mums has been a joy for all of us!
7 Ways to Help to Reduce Newborn Seals Becoming Abandoned!
Do not put a seal in the water. (Injured, sick & newborn pups are on land for a reason)
Do not disturb them, please observe from a minimum distance of 100m to ensure the mum does not get frightened away..
Do not touch pups (these animals WILL bite, and human presence may lead to mothers abandoning otherwise healthy pups)
Keep dogs on leash and children away, Seal mum’s are more defensive during pupping season.
Please Take photos using the zoom function on your camera! (They help us determine an animal’s condition immediately, and if necessary, a rescue can be organised promptly.)
If the pup is on its own with no mum in sight, injured or if you are unsure, contact our 24/7 Rescue Hotline for advice on 087 1955 393!
Nothing compares to a mum caring for and raising her pup, so it’s extremely important that everyone helps us to prevent the circumstances where pups need to be rescued. By sharing this information – and helping to keep these pups safe, we can all help!