Scared and hidden in the dune, on a beach at the Pointe du Siège in Ouistreham, a baby seal was saved a few days after its birth. A passer-by had moved it while it was waiting for its mother who had gone hunting. “A baby can only survive 72 hours without its mother. It was 3 km from its birthplace,” warns Mélissande Gaultier, marine mammal mission manager at the Normandy Mammalogy Group (GMN). The facts date back to the end but were revealed late so as not to attract too many curious people around the appearance of this young new resident of the estuary.
“Snowboarders saw someone walking around with the seal under their arm,” says Mélissande Gaultier. “They notified the police, who were aware of the birth of this little one.” The military and the GMN quickly intervened and, with the green light from Pelagis, the national reference organization on these subjects, decided to return the animal to its birthplace. “Its mother would never have found it on this beach. And it was lost. It doesn’t have the strength to return by itself to where its mother had left it,” continues the project manager.
“It is a protected species”
The gesture of this passer-by (who has not been identified) is intriguing, while there are many information signs on seals in the area and the mammals have been part of the estuary landscape again for 10 years. Did this person think that the baby, less than a meter long and weighing around ten kilos, was in danger, all alone? A persistent idea, while the presence of seals on the sand is completely normal, for rest or quiet times. Mélissande Gaultier raises her voice: “it is a protected species. Under no circumstances can an unauthorized person touch it. Those who do are subject to fines.” Which makes the selfie expensive, since, yes, some people approach it inconsiderately for a photo…
Beyond prosecution, offenders risk being bitten and exposed to diseases. They also disturb the seals, of which there are about twenty on average in the estuary. The birth of the pup, which the GMN had witnessed, is a rarity that has been hoped for for several years. The irresponsible initiative of the passer-by could have caused the death of the seal or its abandonment since its mother could have rejected it due to human odors. But neither the transport nor the intervention, with all the necessary equipment, spoiled the reunion. Reintroduced into its native estuary, the newborn reconnected with its mother shortly afterwards. If a seal really appears to be in difficulty, witnesses must notify Pelagis, the GMN or the Gendarmerie’s nautical brigade.
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