Estonian Environmental Board informs

Photos Roland Müür

Translation Liis

Small grey seal resting on Pärnu bay ice

Disturbing seals may be dangerous for the young seals as well as for humans since female seals may attack the intruder to defend their offspring.

Two of the three seal species in the Baltic are native to Estonia: the grey seal and the ringed seal. Sometimes, but rarely, the harbour seal may also visit here; its habitats are in the southern part of the Baltic, around southern Sweden and in the Danish straits. In spring the Estonian seals moult, sitting on rocks; in summer however they swim in the sea to collect a sufficient fat layer for winter and prepare for the giving of birth to their offspring in winter..

Photo  Bert Rähni, www.360.ee

Ice map from Estonian Weather Service

Ringed seal pup on Väinameri (Straits Sea) ice

Ringed seal    Viigerhüljes or viiger        Pusa hispida

We were lucky to see a solitary ringed seal last autumn in the grey seal monitoring camera when it spent some time in the grey seal haulout. Sometimes they move together.