There has been a spate of young seals dying off our coastline, according to Nic Slocum of Whale Watch West Cork.
THERE has been a spate of young seals dying off our coastline, according to Nic Slocum of Whale Watch West Cork.
‘At this time of year,’ Mr Slocum said, ‘you will get a certain amount of die-off of young seals, but that might not account for the number of dead seals currently being reported.’
Before Christmas, the ingestion of plastic resulted in the death of one seal found near Lough Hyne, but the death of another seal found at Adrigole, last week, was undetermined. Over the weekend, two further deaths were reported by readers of The Southern Star: Patrick Harkin sent a photo of a dead seal at Barleycove, while Annie Brazier sent a photograph of a dead grey seal at Ballyrisode (right).
Mr Slocum urged the public to contact Seal Rescue Ireland at 087 1955393 if they come across any dead seals. Melanie Croce of Seal Rescue Ireland, attributed the cause of the increased fatalities among our seal population to the frequent storms, saying: ‘It gives them a brutal start to life.’
