© Unsplash / Ruvim Miksanskiy
In the coastal town of De Panne in Belgium, an RTL journalist recently spotted seals resting on the beach, watched and guarded throughout the night by a group of volunteers supported by SEA LIFE Blankenberge.
Seals are a common sight on Belgian beaches, where they rest up after their long journeys. RTL spoke to SEA LIFE Blankenberge about why seals are protected by the volunteers, how long the animals usually rest on the beach and where they all come from.
Volunteer 'bodyguards' protect the area around the seals mainly from dogs and other people, explains general manager Delphine Dobbels: "Unfortunately we've had instances where people caused harm to resting or injured seals, but more often it's dogs that are off-leash, curiously smelling and then end up fighting with the seal because it attacks when it feels in danger".
The North Seal Team has about 140 volunteers working on different areas of the coast, and sets up perimeters around the seals to protect them. Through Facebook and WhatsApp groups, they organise themselves in different cities based off where they live, explains Dobbels.
"When [passerby] find a seal they contact us via WhatsApp and send us pictures and videos and the location. Our team of animal caretakers than assesses the situation and decides if we need to go have a look or not."
The two types of seals in the North Sea are Grey seals and common seals. The two species have different breeding times: grey seals are born during winter (meaning grey pups between December - February), and common seals born during summer (with pups between June-August).
If a seal is injured, SEA LIFE steps in. It is difficult to say where the seals come from and where they swim to. They live in the North Sea and are not tracked, explains Dobbels.
Even non-volunteers can contact SEA LIFE Blankenberge by sending pictures, videos and a location via the 'Distressed Seal' number, which you can find here.
