Seals at the Westerschelde river
Stories
Seals at the Westerschelde river
Encounters in the early morning with young seals at the Westerschelde in Zeeland
The location
Every morning we walk with our dogs along the Westerschelde river. We usually walk along a marsh first. Many birds can be found here all year round, e.g. oystercatchers, lapwings, redshanks, geese, gulls, spoonbills and even a stray flamingo. There is also a herd of Scottish Highlanders and sheep often graze on the Zeedijk. On the way back we walk along the river. Again, a variety of birds. We often see the cormorant and the turnstone here. They are mainly on the waterfront and not at the marsh.
Our first encounter
In the middle of the Westerschelde, a sandbank often falls dry and regularly there is a seal resting and/or sunbathing. Last week there was a seal pup right along the waterfront. He could not return to the water because at low tide the basalt boulders are too high and only with high tide the puppy would be able to return. Would the seal on the sandbank be the mother? We called the seal shelter and they came after some time. The puppy was weighed, he weighed 10.4 kilograms and after consultation it was decided to leave the puppy there for 24 hours and the next day the puppy would be weighed again. If the puppy had lost a lot of weight, he would be taken to the shelter. There was a possibility that the mother would take care of the pup later that day
It was very special to be so close to this beautiful young animal and to help with the weighing. I came back in the afternoon, it was now high tide, and the puppy was no longer there, hopefully reunited with his mother.
Our second encounter
The above took place on an early Friday morning. On the following Monday we found a young seal again, just a bit further up. We contacted the same lady who was there on Friday. She called back a little later and asked if the puppy had a blue dot on his back. Our little friend had indeed a blue dot. It turned out that a young seal had been put back into the sea from the seal shelter and that it was this seal. Later that day the pup was picked up again and returned to the shelter
Because we were so closely involved, we were able to make special photos and even a short video.
The movie
Stills
Characteristics of the common seal
Name: Phoca vitulina
- dimensions♂ max. 1.90 meters; ♀ Max. 1.70 meters
- weight♂ max. 170 kilograms; ♀ Max. 130 kilograms
- color grey with dark spots
- age up to 35 years
- food especially fish (about 4 to 8 kilograms per day)
- locomotion swimming and bobbing
- enemy man (disturbance, hunting, pollution and bycatch in traps and fishing nets)
- reproductive sex maturity: from 2-5 years; Gestation period: 10-11 months; birth period: summer (May – July)
Links
Below is a link to a website where you can find a lot of information about seals, which occur in the Netherlands and Belgium:
https://www.vleet.be/nl/zeehonden-algemeen
The VLEET is a Dutch-language online encyclopedia, intended for the sea lover who wants to know more about the sea and coast in Belgium and the Netherlands.
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