First baby seal pup of the season spotted at nature reserve

The first baby seal of the season has been spotted at South Walney Nature Reserve near Barrow.

The news sent waves of excitement among conservationists at Cumbria Wildlife Trust, who hope that the new seal pup will be the first of many.

It's the fourth year running that seal pups have been born on the island, and conservationists hope it's a trend that will continue.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the animals were a rare sight, but numbers have been gradually rising, and now there are several hundred seals.

They may be sweet, but young seal pups are incredibly vulnerable.

It's prompted a warning from staff at the South Walney Nature Reserve for people not to approach this new arrival.

If baby and mum are disturbed, it could make the mother abandon her puppy to starve.

As Sarah Dalrymple explains, the seals need certain conditions to thrive. They are easily disturbed by people, who can have a "catastrophic effect on the breeding colony."

Don't worry, though - you can still catch sight of the rest of the seals playing and fishing at high tide from elsewhere on the reserve and check out a close-up view of the baby by following the link below.

• [Click to see a live webcam of the seals](https://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/cams/seal- cam)