A new report by MPs has found some marine wildlife is being failed by the UK government. Protections for whales, dolphins and seals are poorer compared to other countries, the Parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (Efra) found. Some of the threats include underwater noise, pollution in the water and climate change, the BBC […]
For the first time, scientists have recorded brain activity in a free-ranging, wild marine mammal, revealing the sleep habits of elephant seals during the months they spend at sea. The new findings, published April 20 in Science, show that while elephant seals may spend 10 hours a day sleeping on the beach during the breeding season, they […]
Four dead seals have tested positive for bird flu in Scotland, as the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in mammals continues to grow globally with experts warning of “a step-change” in its spread. The largest ever bird flu outbreak had already spilled over into otters and foxes in the UK, with about 70 […]
A record number of baby seals have been spotted on a five-mile stretch of coast in Norfolk, the Guardian has reported. A total of 3,796 seal pups have been born so far this winter, while 1,169 adults have been spotted by volunteers. This year’s figure is almost double the count during the winter of […]
Wildlife & Countryside Link: ‘Benefits of seal watching for UK coastal tourism (August 2021) The UK is home to two seal species, the grey seal and harbour seal. Despite precipitous falls in numbers to around 500 in the early 20th century, it is now estimated that there are in excess of 120,000 grey seals in […]
NatureScot has published the results of the fifth full census of Scotland’s harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) over the last 25 years which reveals Scotland’s harbour seals are doing well overall but there remains a striking divide between east and west coast populations. Estimates based on these surveys undertaken by the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) […]
A new tranche of monitoring and progress reports from the Skomer MCZ has been added to the NRW website. In addition to the 2019 Annual Report, the Project Status Report 2019-20 lists 42 MCZ monitoring projects (mostly biological but including hydrography and human activities), summarises some of these and provides detailed updates on several others. There […]
Crowds gathering to watch the ‘Wally’ the walrus as well as people on paddleboards, canoes and jet skis trying to get a close-up of view of him is certainly not following the advice of either the old or updated Countryside Code (launched last week) to “give wild animals plenty of space”. Seals are a much […]