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Spending so much time over the last few years watching the Atlantic Grey Seals, we've seen some amazing sights, but nothing prepared us for this one.
Mothers will often reject their Pup if she picks up unfamiliar scents, detects a danger or any kind of threat.
We sat high in the dunes watching the colony, there were the usual amazing sights, huge Bulls fighting, Males and Females breeding, new mothers feeding their young...
As we looked more closely we saw a tiny new born pup nuzzle up to another pup that was probably only just a few days older.
Usually the Mother will chase other Seals away, quite often you see them warn any Seal, young, old, male or female away from her and her young pup during this vulnerable time, but we watched, amazed as the Mother returned from the Sea, greeted her own Pup (the larger one) and then rolled over and allowed both Pups to feed.
After some time, she did move away with her own pup and left the smaller one on it's own again.
The tragedy of this beautiful set of photographs is the pup may have been abandoned by it's own mother, if it had not been abandoned, then when the mother returns and smells the other seals on her Pup she may not recognise it and will leave and never return.
There is also the risk of the mother losing too much weight too quickly as she nourishes both pups, leaving her and the pups weaker and more vulnerable that they would usually be.
I hope this young pup is a born survivor though and continues to use any means possible to get the nourishment it so needs at the moment.
Grey Seals give birth to one pup at a time and spend the next three weeks feeding it, during this time you can see the pups growing larger and larger while the mother slowly shrinks as she passes all her nutrients to her baby with her extra rich milk.
After three weeks the mother returns to the sea to feed and the pup is left alone to shed it's thick white coat before it ventures into the sea for it's very first taste of fish.
The female will breed again and return to the beach next year to give birth.
If you see a Seal Pup alone, please do not approach it. It's Mother is quite likely to be nearby and if she sees or smells you around her pup she may never return and the pup will starve to death.
If you think a seal is injured or abandoned, do not approach it but call the RSPCA 03001234 999 or in Scotland call the SSPCA 03000 999 999.
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