Cornish seals 'give up on summer' and moult early

A seal at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary during the moulting process

Poor summer weather has caused seals at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary to start getting ready for winter early, charity bosses have said.

The grey seals that live at the charity's base in Gweek, near Helston, have started moulting - shedding old, drab fur for a new coat.

Tamara Cooper, from the sanctuary, said it was "incredibly unusual" for the time of year.

"A few of them might be a bit confused by the dull weather," she said.

• BBC Radio Cornwall: Weather causes seals to moult early

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary said moulting usually only happens in late winter or early spring, getting the animals ready for extreme temperature changes.

It said the seals had "decided summer 2023 is a wash-out".

Ms Cooper added: "The process takes a lot of energy, as they have to increase the blood supply to the skin at this time, so, as you can imagine, they're spending a lot of time resting."

Moulting means the seal replaces its old, drab fur for a new coat

She said the charity had also been seeing the impact of the changing seasons on seal populations around the coast.

"Pup season seems to be starting earlier and earlier each year, with pups now coming into our hospital as early as August," she said.

"We used to expect them from September... While this could be a direct sign of our seasons getting earlier over the years, it also has a knock-on effect because the pups are more likely to come into contact with the huge volume of visitors Cornwall sees each summer to our local beaches."

The charity is reminding people not to disturb seal pups on beaches and to contact them or British Divers Marine Life Rescue if they see a pup in distress.

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