Bright orange seals in the Dollard: They come every year, often with their young. It is beautiful to see those mothers, but their bright orange heads do not really suit the landscape. Our net-victim seal (rehabilitated years ago) comes to the Dollard with her young every year, naturally close to the dyke.
To create “new nature” a channel has been dug in the Dollard, with a connection to the newly created embankment in the Breebaartpolder.
Great thinking: The water levels are computer-controlled and a footpath goes along it, so that visitors can see everything that happens.
However, they failed to consider what influence such a channel would have on the seals.
Now we know: It is a great place for seals to nurse their young at high tide. The seals soon discovered that and two days ago, there were 50 seal mothers lying with their pups at the bottom of the sea dyke.
And guess where all the visitors are being led to look at the beautiful Breebaartpolder and the Punt van Reide? You have guessed right: Up on the sea dyke, barely 15 metres away from the seals.
The people are walking, unaware of any evil, on the dyke towards the seals.
The new channel’s banks are very steep, consist of slippery mud and there is a strong current. When the people come closer, the mother seals panic and flee into the water, but the pups – who are lying sound asleep on the bank– do not realise this in time. It is terrible to see how a mother seal tries to climb back up the slippery slope. She will try everywhere, but is unable to get to her pup, still lying there asleep.
This is how babies lose their mothers.
The young seals will later go into the water, but then they are immediately swept away by the current, crying for their mother.
This orange seal lost her young in this exact same way. She went to all the other mothers, looking for her young. This meant war among the mothers and in the end none of the pups was nursed at all. They are potential SRRC patients, because if baby seals are less than thirty kilos at four weeks old, they will not make it through the winter.
We have already put signs up saying “do not disturb the seals” but people do not read.
If only the visitors would climb up the dyke, with just their head poking out above it, all would be well. Seals have great hearing and see everything that moves.
This is the only place you can see the seals like this. Surely, it should be possible that we behave in such a way that they are left in peace? It tires me out: Every time I have to explain why people should not be walking over the dyke. I try to explain, but I am not very tactful and get wound up by it too much.
But we are left with the baby seals from this area.
And that is such a shame; they should be with their mother.
But, to return to the bright orange seals: do you think they got a colour wash at Akzo Nobel?
Lenie06-28-2009 Source: SRRC Lenie 't Hart
June 28, 2009
June 17, 2009
May 17, 2009
April 08, 2009
March 29, 2009
March 20, 2009
