A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to witness a little miracle when, for the first time in living memory, a seal pup was born on Freshwater East beach.
Given that Freshwater East beach is a doggy heaven, the villagers, beautifully organised by our resident nature expert, sprang into action. On a carefully managed rota we each took daily slots as “Seal Guardians” keeping visitors and dogs at a safe distance from Hope and her mum. The Welsh Marine Life Rescue charity also ensured workers and volunteers were on duty, all day and every day, during these important first weeks.
Initially, seal mums are wonderfully nurturing and devote all their time to fattening up their pup in order to prepare them for complete independence by (astonishingly) just three weeks old. Mum’s milk is full of healthy fats and seal pups can put on up to 4lb a day while under her care. However, if Mum gets spooked by people or animals she is very likely to abandon her pup too early to ensure its survival.
The female seal pup was named ‘Hope’ and her progress became the focus of village attention. We enjoyed our very own Seal Opera and breathed huge sighs of relief each time that Mum returned to the beach after taking her daily exercise and bath in the sea. Unfortunately, the three weeks to independence under Mum’s care could easily turn into three months under human care if the pup needed to be rescued and moved to a sanctuary. No amount of human feeding would ever be able to prepare Hope as well as Mum’s milk. A randy Bull seal visiting the bay and calling out to Mum to join him for some seal nookie also added to the drama.
However, Hope grew and hope grew, and at 2 1/2 weeks old the pup had fully moulted and was chubby enough for complete independence. As predicted, off Mum went, never to see her pup again. That first night Hope’s cries for mum were heart breaking but over the next few days Hope was seen happily playing in the shallows. Then, one day, she was gone … healthy, safe and free to enjoy her adeventures.
This pencil drawing, drawn so beautifully by The Husband, and taken from a photograph of ‘Hope’ by village photographer Rebecca Morris, beautifully captures Freshwater East’s quite heart warming little miracle.
As always … prints are available and we also have special edition commemorative mugs for sale.
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Trashcan Emporium & The ThreadShed Fresh East 