5th of November: Over Eighty

Today's Grey Seal pup count takes the running total to over 80 births so far this autumn. Alongside two juvenile Common Seals, a total of 597 adult Grey and 84 pups were recorded on Blakeney Point this afternoon.

	Bulls	Cows	Pups
Zone 1	100	228	55
Zone 2	49	50	19
Zone 3	94	73	10
Zone 4	3	0	0
Total:	246	351	84

When conducting pup counts, we divide the Point into eight zones, as listed below.

Zone 1: Beach west of Gap [no access 25th Oct - 25th Jan]
Zone 2: Far/Middle/Near Point and Stanley's Cockle Bight [no access 25th Oct - 25th Jan]
Zone 3: Beach between Gap and Long Hills [no access 25th Oct - 25th Jan]
Zone 4: Yellow dunes, Great Sandy Low and Beach Way [no access 25th Oct - 25th Jan]
Zone 5: Grey dunes and Landing Ridge
Zone 6: Long Hills and Yankee Ridge
Zone 7: Beach east of Long Hills
Zone 8: Ridge east of Long Hills including the Hood

Map showing Blakeney Point pup count zones - click to enlarge

It is only in the last five years that the rookery has spread beyond zones 1 and 2, into 3 and 4, and only in the last two years that pups have been born in zones 6, 7 and 8. Funnily enough, the first Grey Seal pups ever born on the Point (in autumn 1988) were on the Landing Ridge, in zone 5, as were the sporadic pups born in the early/mid 1990s. By the late 1990s, pups were regularly being born in zone 1, forming a rookery at the very start of the 21st century.

One of the younger pups (Ajay Tegala)

One of the slightly older pups (Ajay Tegala)

Please remember that the best way to see the seals and their pups is on the ferry trips that go out of Morston Quay. To avoid disturbance and potential pup deaths, please stay out of fenced areas and keep dogs on short leads at all times.

- Ajay, Ranger