Yearly summary - 2024
The first grey seal pup of the season at the Donna Nook colony was born on 29 October, the last pup on 22 December. The total number of grey seal pups born was 1,649. This is 558 or 25% less than last year’s total of 2,207. The reasons for this decline are unclear and appear to part of a wider decline in the numbers of pups born on the east coast in 2024.
For the last five years pup numbers at Donna Nook have remained stable at around 2,200. Mortality rate for pups has also remained consistent between 6.3 and 8.6%. It is not known whether the decline in 2024 was due to deaths of adult female seals or if they are still alive but did not give birth. At Donna Nook, there hasn’t been a significant change in the number of dead seals washed up on the beach.
A decline in the number of grey seal pups born in 2024 has also been reported from other east coast colonies. This is the first significant drop in the UK east coast colonies since monitoring began 40 years ago. The Sea Mammal Research Unit are undertaking a programme of research to understand the decline.
Thank you to the team of 68 volunteer seal wardens who recorded 2,943 hours of volunteer time throughout the season, the equivalent of 342 working days.
Reports of dead seals
Reports of dead seals washed up should be reported to the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (0800 652 0333).
https://ukstrandings.org/
If possible, please collect information such as species, size, location, date, state of decomposition, and take photos (with an indication of scale if possible). Do NOT touch dead animals.
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