On July 8th, the Seal Research and Rescue Center carried out a seal-observation flight over the Wadden Sea. From the plane, every sandbank in the Wadden Sea was checked for seals. The groups of seals were studied with binoculars and the animals were counted. Also, large groups of seals were captured on a high-speed video camera so that they could be counted with precision afterwards. The count was carried out at low tide, and thanks to the warm weather and sunshine, practically all the seals were lying out on the sandbanks. After analysis of the videotapes, it is concluded that as many as 2800 seals have been counted, including both common seals and gray seals. Both species live in the Wadden Sea, but only the common seal has its young in the summer. Fortunately, there were many seals with young this time. A second count has been planned for august: Then the seals will be out on the banks again, because they will be moulting. The SRRC has been counting the seal population for years. It is important, because it allows you to compare the numbers over the years and shows whether the seal population is increasing or declining. In comparison to last year, a slight growth in the number of seals has been recorded.
30-07-2006 Source: SRRC
