Animals: First gray seals of the year in Friedrichskoog

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Animals
First gray seals of the year in Friedrichskoog

The female gray seals Hätti (l) and Toni in the Friedrichskoog seal station. photo

© Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa

The two cute little gray seals will one day grow up to be large predators. First, Toni and Hätti have to be looked after at the Friedrichskoog seal station.

The first two boys Gray seals of the year have moved from the quarantine station of the Friedrichskoog seal station (Dithmarschen district) to the breeding area. The females Toni and Hätti, who weigh a good 23 and 18 kilograms, were brought from the Heligoland dune to Friedrichskoog at the end of November when they were around two weeks old. They did not yet have enough weight to survive on their own.

Both animals quickly explored their new territory and gave the impression that they felt comfortable, said an employee at the seal station. They are now being fed with plenty of fish weighing up to 35 to 40 kilograms and can probably be released into the North Sea at the beginning of January.

The young animals spent the first few days in the Friedrichskoog quarantine station. According to the seal station, 467 young animals were counted on the Heligoland dune by the end of November. In the wild, people should keep as much distance as possible from marine mammals.

Gray seals are the largest predators in Germany. According to the German Wildlife Foundation, they can grow up to 2.5 meters long and weigh 300 kilograms. Gray seals are strictly protected in Germany according to the Federal Nature Conservation Act and the EU Flora-Fauna-Habitat Directive.

dpa

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