Alarm over seal stampedes on North Wales coast if staycation boom continues
Call for visitor caution follows disturbances to Llandudno's grey seal colony
Seaside visitors to the North Wales coast are being asked to avoid grey seal haunts amid concerns they will be disturbed and driven out to sea to die.
Some 200 seals are currently occupying a beach at the Little Orme, Llandudno, as the breeding season gets underway.
Videos shared on social media in recent months have shown people getting too close to the colony and prompting a stampede of seals into the sea.
Without sufficient rest, following long underwater hunts, they could die from exhaustion, according to North Wales Seal Research Organisation (NWSRO).
“After battling tides and currents, they build up an energy and oxygen deficit which needs to be replenished by resting up,” said NWSRO director Gem Simmons, a mariine biologist.
“If they are disturbed shortly after returning to dry land, they will quickly find themselves in trouble.”
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