Seals In Ice-Free Gulf Of St. Lawrence Whelping On Shore - Mortality Spike Expected For Pups

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An exceptional lack of sea ice on the Gulf of St. Lawrence this winter has left seal mothers with few places to bear their young or to feed their pups. The conditions have led to numerous sightings of fuzzy, days-old critters wallowing on beaches, where many will die.

Some of those seals are being born on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula. "We've got lovely weather here and the shoreline is peppered with seals," retired school teacher Oswald Gould said Wednesday, in Bear Cove, western Newfoundland, near St. Barbe. "You can see the young ones being born. They are pupping. Right in by the seashore."

On the Quebec shores of the gulf, some people have even carted the big-eyed creatures, which weigh between 10 and 20 kilograms depending on the species, back home where they try to nurse them to health, de la Cheneliere said Tuesday. But she said human interaction can add stress to the situation and diseases can be spread to and from the seals.

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With the unusual shortage of ice on the Gulf this year, de la Cheneliere's group is predicting higher mortality rates for young seals. Still, not every beached pup perishes on the shore — some find their way back to the water and survive, she said. A marine mammal specialist for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans recently told The Canadian Press he also expects the death rate for seal pups to rise this year from its average of 15 per cent.

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http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/03/10/mont-seal-pups-ice-gulf-lawrence.html