Good Year For Pups

There were a healthy number of pups born on Sgeir Dhon this year - eleven in all. These were fed by attentive mothers for about 3 weeks by which time the pups were inflated to a lovely round cuddly shape. Mothers, on the other hand, were looking depleted and decidedly bony. They took the only option available to them and abandoned the pups to fend for themselves. The mother seals took off to build up their own reserves before the male seals mate with them again.
These were a few anxious days for the pups, as they cried for their mothers, but they soon learned that they could fend for themselves after a little initial weight loss.
The male seals have now returned to the rock and are awaiting the arrival of the females.