Seal pups beached in ice-free Gulf of St. Lawrence
Pups seen on Quebec shores, as far north as Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | 1:24 PM ET
The Canadian Press
An exceptional lack of sea ice on the Gulf of St. Lawrence this winter has left seal mothers with few places to bear their young or to feed their pups.
The conditions have led to numerous sightings of fuzzy, days-old critters wallowing on beaches, where many will die.
Some of those seals are being born on Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula.
“We’ve got lovely weather here and the shoreline is peppered with seals,” retired school teacher Oswald Gould said Wednesday, in Bear Cove, western Newfoundland, near St. Barbe. “You can see the young ones being born. They are pupping. Right in by the seashore.”
On the Quebec shores of the gulf, some people have even carted the big-eyed creatures, which weigh between 10 and 20 kilograms depending on the species, back home where they try to nurse them to health, de la Cheneliere said Tuesday.
But she said human interaction can add stress to the situation and diseases can be spread to and from the seals.
Her organization has received five direct reports of young harp or hooded seal pups marooned on Quebec’s North Shore, Îles-de-la-Madeleine and the Gaspé Peninsula. They have also heard many second-hand accounts of sightings along the shoreline. …
An Environment Canada ice forecaster recently said the sea-ice levels recorded in the Gulf this winter are about as low as any readings since the 1960s.
Earlier this week, Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said poor ice conditions may cause the cancellation of this year’s Gulf of St. Lawrence seal hunt. It usually begins at the end of March.
