Dead seals on Cornish beaches baffling wildlife experts
35 seals have been found dead in the past two months
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Wildlife experts say they are baffled after huge numbers of dead seals have been washed onto the beaches of Cornwall for no discernible reason.
According to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, 35 seals have been found dead in the past two months, almost twice the normal rate for this time of yearl, but while the weather is likely to be partly responsible, the extent of the increase remains a mystery.
“While bad weather will undoubtedly have been the cause of some of these strandings, the sheer number of cases has left us slightly baffled. We don’t yet have any answers as to why this is happening,” said Caz Waddell, from the trust.
“Although it would be easy to assume that large numbers of stranded seals might mean we have large populations of seals in our waters, this is simply not the case,” she added.
The trend is particularly concerning because the recent strandings have included young adults in their prime.
Sue Sayer, of the Cornwall Seal Group, said: “If we are losing breeding age adults from the population the implications for future generations could be huge. Whilst it is sadly quite common to find dead pups at this time of year, deaths of adult seals are more serious and we are concerned about the future numbers that are dying around out coast.”
The Cornwall Wildlife Trust said 37 seals have been rescued alive from Cornish beaches in the past two months after being washed in from the sea.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments