It was a blustery morning. Fast moving clouds hung low, their shapes and patterns along the horizon suggesting rain was on its way.
Shetland-based author Catherine Munro is joining our team as a regular contributor to the Promote Shetland blog. In her first article she recalls the breath-taking moment she spotted a seal pup on the beach.
Despite being late morning the sun remained close to the horizon, casting golden beams of light across the bay. I love this winter light, the feeling it brings of being suspended in perpetual sunset, adding to the magic of the land.
Then I noticed a shape on the beach. A tiny seal, its fluffy white coat moving with the wind. The beach was deserted. No other seals were visible and the baby wasn’t moving.
Despite initial fears, the seal pup was not alone. Catherine Munro
Grey seals have their pups in autumn, a season of storms and high seas. For the first few weeks they are protected from the elements by a thick coat, its brightness thought to be camouflage from when pups were born on snow. Until they lose this baby fur they are tied to the land. Unable to swim or hunt they are dependent on their mother’s milk.
Despite having lived in Shetland for seven years and regularly encountering seals, I’d never seen a young baby before. Usually pups are born in groups on secluded beaches where they are safe from intrusion. Not wanting to disturb them I have never gone looking.
Fearing the worst, a motionless pup, seemingly alone in the wrong place, I walked closer. As I watched through binoculars, I saw the steady rhythm of the baby’s breathing. Relief washed over me as I let out a breath that I hadn’t realised I was holding.
I sat mesmerised, amazed how in seconds a regular walk in a familiar place could become magical.
The pup’s coat was impossibly clean and white and the roundness of its body showed that it was feeding regularly. Yawning, the pup rolled over and flicked its tail before closing its eyes once more. I sat mesmerised, amazed how in seconds a regular walk in a familiar place could become magical. The pup had no idea I was there but a movement in the water caught my eye. Three seals were swimming in the shallows, watching me intently. Contrary to my first impression, the pup was not alone.
When seal pups are seen alone on a beach, people will often think they are abandoned. However, it is common for adults to leave pups, sometimes for long periods of time, to go hunting. To avoid the unnecessary and harmful intervention of taking healthy pups into captivity, people who spot a pup are asked to keep an eye on them but not take any immediate action.
Seals are a common sight around the Shetland shoreline. Catherine Munro
The following day the pup looked bigger. Already some baby coat was gone from around its eyes and nose, the grey of adulthood beginning to emerge. The wind carried a feeling of storms. A quick check of the weather forecast confirmed strong gales from the south were expected.
Some sheep started to gather, finding shelter by the shore. As I watched them I realised that this bay, surrounded by rock and hill, was in the perfect position to avoid the approaching weather. Perhaps the seal mum, feeling the changing movements in the atmosphere, had chosen this place to weather the storm.
Visit our sea life page for tips on when and where to spot seals, otters, porpoises or orcas in Shetland.