No pup-arazzi, please! First newborn seals spotted on Farne Islands

The first new seals of the season have been photographed on the Farnes. Credit: PA Images

The first new seal pups of the season have been photographed on the Farne Islands.

The islands off the Northumberland Coast are home to between 3,000 and 4,000 seals and provide an important breeding ground for the species.

Around 1,500 pups are born across the island, with numbers recorded by a team of rangers each year.

In recent years, they have recorded an increase in the number of seals being sighted.

The Farne Islands are home to as many as 4,000 seals. Credit: PA Images

Rangers have turned to new technology for seal pup counts, using drones to monitor numbersas it is much less invasive for the colonies. In 2021, thermal imaging was adopted by the team for the first time.

The Farnes have faced a very difficult 2022 so far, with thousands of seabirds dying on its shoreline as a result of outbreaks of Avian flu.

The islands themselves remain closed to visitors, although some boat tours around them are still running.

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