Donna Nook reserve welcomes first baby seal of the season

The pup was spotted at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve on Monday

The first baby grey seal of the season has been born at a nature reserve on the Lincolnshire coast.

The pup was seen in the distance at the Donna Nook nature reserve on Monday, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust said.

Expectant seals tend to return to Donna Nook annually to give birth near the sand dunes.

In 2022, the reserve enjoyed a near-record year for the number of seal pups born, with the last of 2,209 pups born on Christmas Day.

About 2,000 pups are born during the birthing season, which runs until December

Thousands of people visit the reserve each year to catch a glimpse of the seals and their pups, with one seal - dubbed Ropeneck due to a scar left by a rope - enjoying celebrity status.

Since being rescued by wardens in 2000, Ropeneck has returned to the reserve at almost the same time every year to give birth.

Ropeneck pictured with new pup in 2021

People are regularly asked to give the animals space to protect them and to follow the guidelines.

The seals spend most of the year at sea or on sandbanks but come ashore to give birth from late October to December.

According to the wildlife trust, after suckling their pups for two to three weeks, the seals abandon the young, mate again ready for the following year and then head back out to sea.

Eventually, hunger drives the young seals into the water in the hunt for food.