According to estimates, more than 600 gray seals have already been born on Heligoland this season. Rebecca Ballstaedt from the Jordsand club told the dpa. According to the German Wildlife Foundation, gray seals were hunted by humans until the mid-20th century. The largest free-living predators in Germany had long disappeared from the German coasts.
Since the 1980s, colonies have sprung up again off Amrum, Juist, Norderney, Borkum and on the Heligoland dunes. The gray seal birthing season on Heligoland lasts from November to January. Unlike harbor seals, which start swimming immediately after birth, gray seals spend their first weeks of life on land.
Unlike in previous years, the number of animals is no longer counted every day, Ballstaedt explained. The counts directly on the beach are not without danger because the female animals defend their young and the male animals are also aggressive during the mating season. The number of animals is recorded with the help of regular counting flights. In 2021/2022, a total of 679 gray seal births were registered on the Heligoland dunes.
