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Webcam has transmitted video once again. There is only one grey seal pup in our view, however, some more movement could be heard through the microphone (as a reminder – Ivar Jüssi counted around twenty seal pups on the reef).

 

It seems that this is a seal pup who was born in February and who is not being fed by the mother anymore – the period of suckling lasts only for three weeks and during that time, weight of the baby seal reaches up to 50kg. From now on, the pup must manage all on its own – the adults are in heat, which happens right after they stop suckling; now they are busy with each other.

 

The young-one has already scraped off much of its light-coloured baby fur against pieces of ice. By this age, the little guy should already be in the sea, acquiring experience. We have been able to see in previous years how the very young seals go into water. Staying on the shore for too long uses up the reserve nutrients, which have been stored from mother`s milk. There should be plenty of Baltic herring in coastal waters to master the art of hunting.

 

The bays of the western coast of Saaremaa are covered with ice, the water level is extremely low because of strong eastern winds and this is being put to use by phytophagous mute swans, whose feeding area covers places where their long neck can reach the vegetation at the bottom.