The big seal count has started on the Lower Saxony North Sea coast.
The first babies are already sunbathing on the sandbanks.
Oldenburg (Lower Saxony) – Summer time is baby animal time.
This also applies to seals on the Lower Saxony North Sea coast.
The whelping season in the Wadden Sea has begun - and with it the great seal count from the air.
Because from June to August is the best time to watch the animals and their offspring on the sandbanks.
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When the seals lie on the sandbanks at low tide, they can be easily counted from the air.
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© Harald Lange/Imago
First baby seals born on the North Sea coast - count from the air
The Lower Saxony State Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (LAVES) has scheduled a total of five dates for the large seal census on the North Sea coast.
The first three aircraft took off from Emden, Mariensiel and Nordholz on June 8th.
It continues throughout the month and on two dates in August.
A total of 15 flights are planned to count the seals from the air.
The seal counts are also pending in Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark and the Netherlands at the same time.
In San Rafael, USA, police can't believe their eyes when a baby seal gets lost on the street.
There is a good reason why the seal count flights fall during the summer months: when the tide is low, the marine mammals often cavort on the sandbanks to bathe in the sun, change their fur or take care of their offspring.
The first baby seals have already been born.
From the plane, they can be counted more easily on land.
The LAVES scientists also gain a first impression of the current state of health of the sea creatures.
First baby seals born on the North Sea coast – population has recovered
The seal population in Lower Saxony has been systematically recorded since 1958.
The annual censuses, with which hunters from Lower Saxony provide voluntary support, give a precise overview of the population.
In the summer of 2002, this showed a dramatic development.
The seal distemper (Phocine Distemper Virus, PDV) killed around 3,900 animals and only just under 3,500 were spared the virus.
Since then, the seal population in the Wadden Sea has been recovering continuously, as the numbers have stabilized at a high level in recent years.
In 2021, a total of 10,277 seals were recorded on the North Sea coast of Lower Saxony.
List of rubrics: © Harald Lange/Imago
