This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Friday 16 October 2020
What Sealed Their Fate?
A drone survey has revealed an estimated 5000 Cape fur seal foetuses aborted on the shores of Namibia (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/16/estimated-5000-cape-fur-seal-foetuses-spotted-on-namibian-coast). This species will abandon its young or abort foetuses, when there is a shortage of food but this event represents a large proportion of the expected natal recruitment. This could certainly have a very detrimental effect on the seal population that will be felt for several years. It is currently uncertain whether this die-off is due to a lack of food, disease or toxins. The last time it happened (1994), the event appeared to be a consequence of a food shortage coimbined with a Streptococcal infection. Now, the seals in South Africa are also having to face predation from Lions on the beaches.
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