Baby seal "walks" several kilometres 04/01/2008 00:00

A young grey seal pup crawled 1.5 to 2 km in the northern part of the country on Thursday night.

4 January 2008

PIETERBUREN – A young grey seal pup crawled 1.5 to 2 km in the northern part of the country on Thursday night. The animal was found starving and underweight near the ice skating rink in the village of Ballum on Ameland. The seal refuge centre in Pieterburen, which has taken the animal in, reported this on Friday.

A spokesperson says that the baby seal first crawled over the dike, then across a pasture and along a paved road before ending up near the ice rink. The seal was found in the middle of the night and brought to Pieterburen. The pup will be kept at the refuge until it is strong enough to be released.

Seals rarely travel such long distances over land, the spokesperson said. Though grey seals are accustomed to climbing over rocky areas.
 
A total of 26 young seals that have lost their mothers have been brought to Pieterburen over the past weeks. That is fewer than in previous years, thanks to relatively calm weather.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2008]

Subject: Dutch news