While they look cute and cuddly with their big puppy dog eyes and
whiskers, Britain’s seals are becoming more vicious and violent in their
predatory behaviors, prompting scientists to ask why.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
The cute,
Labrador retrievers of the sea, ocean seals, may not be as benevolent as they
look. In fact, a dark side to seals is emerging, with behaviors ranging from
penguin rape to violent mutilation of porpoises along the coast of Britain and
Holland.
Experts
warn that these violent behaviors could translate into attacks on human
swimmers. While rare, seal attacks are not unheard of. In 2003, British marine
biologist Kristy Brown, 28, was drowned by a leopard seal off the Antarctic
Peninsula. The seal grabbed her in its jaws and dragged her into the icy deep
while she was snorkeling. Other reports of seal attacks include an attempt in
1985 by a leopard seal to drag a man from pack ice into the chilly water and a
harbor seal that bit the hand of a five year-old in Canada.
Aggressive
behavior in leopard seals is not unusual, but the same sinister activities in
other types of seals is a more recent observation. Scientists at the Institute
for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies in Holland examined the remains of
over 1,000 mutilated porpoises that washed up on the North Sea shorelines over
the past 10 years. For many years, the cause of the mutilations remained a
mystery.
Some
speculated that the porpoises were caught in boat propellers or maimed by
scavengers after being caught in fishing nets. Recently, however, scientists
have traced the crimes to grey seals through DNA evidence.
“Many of
the mutilated porpoises were found on shores used frequently by human bathers
and surfers and there would appear to be no reason why humans may not be at
risk from grey seal attacks,” said biologist Mardick Leopold, lead author on a new report
published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society b.
Approximately
180,000 grey seals reside along the Scottish coastline and surrounding area of
the British Isles. They can reach 11 feet long and weigh over 660 lbs, making
them Britain’s largest carnivorous animals. For reason’s yet unknown, the seals
have begun attacking porpoises that come to the surface of the water to rest.
They grab them by the bony beaks and tear blubber from their bodies.
While
scuba divers have reported being approached by the grey seals, no attacks on
humans have been documented.
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