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According to the manager of Orford Ness in Suffolk, a large colony of seals is thriving on this English coastline due to a lack of human disturbance. The site is where the Suffolk County has their first breeding colony of grey seals. During each winter breeding season, the site welcomes more and more seals which is managed by the National Trust. Mr. Wilson, the trust’s countryside manager for the Suffolk and Essex coast said he hopes the site will rival other UK seal colonies.
This winter season has produced 80 pups thus far, with many more expected to come. Since their arrival in 2021, the seal’s numbers have been steadily increasing. The site is now home to about 400 seals, up from about 200 three years ago. Mr. Wilson is thrilled to see these numbers increase, stating “it’s a real privilege to have them on this site and a responsibility, too, for the team here.”
Orford Ness is a 10-mile long vegetated shingle spit, joined to the mainland just south of Aldeburgh. Known as a military testing site during the 20th century, it is now a location where citizens can visit during the summer. However, the public is not allowed to get close to the colony. Mr. Wilson believes this is a major factor in the colony’s success. He claiming that “even during our open season for visitors, the public aren’t allowed on to this section because the seals are still here through the summer. It’s a great factor for them, this lack of human disturbance, for what is really an amazing occurrence on this site”.
The spit’s ridges and dips add a natural shelter barrier against bad winter weather benefiting the grey seals. Mr. Wilson says the success of the colony is a good indicator of the health of both the species and the marine environment since the seals wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t a good food source in the North Sea. “We’re surely hoping it will become one of the hotspots for grey seals around the UK coast,” he said. “It is such an enormous potential; it is a great environment for them
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