Farne Islands have been the home of about 5,000 grey seals and the local river has been expecting 1,800 seal pups. With this, local tourists have been warned by the Wildlife Trust's Living Seas in regards to approaching them.
The first pup of the season was born in the islands, known as a major and the biggest British colony grey seals, with no local predators. How fierce the weather and how strong the tide is, affects how many grey seals survives the winter and grow into an adult.
According to the National Trust's rangers, who was assigned to look after the islands, that they will be monitoring the number of births over the whole autumn. One way is to spray the pups with a dye to keep them counted and washes over after three weeks.
The organization even added, that their officials have been trained on how to interact with the pups, especially that their protective mums can be aggressive in protecting them.
As early as mid-September, the breeding of these pups begins in the islands, and majority of them being born around October and November.
Pups do not normally leave their colony for months, even though they can swim at an early age. They waited until their white coats have been shed. For visitors to have a closer look at the seals, local boat companies have been offering paid trips.
Conversely, Ranger David Roach, stated that last year they had 1,700 pups, and has been steadily increasing up. He even added that they are expecting it will reach to 1,800 as the recent trend.
However, on their early stage, according to Ranger David Roach, they are not yet waterproof and cannot swim. So, when the tide is too strong and winds are too strong, it causes many of the seals to be a loss.
