The Seals and the Curragh

R M Lockley

First published in 1954, this book still has much to offer seal enthusiasts in the 21st Century. Curious about the seal behaviour he observed, Ronald decided to visit a remote, inaccessible Welsh seal colony called the 'Red Wilderness' for a month. After sailing to the remote beach in a storm, Ronald camps under his inverted sail boat (a Curragh.) He describes the daily position and condition of the seal pups and their mothers on the beach, including 'Billy', a pup whose mother died as she gave birth. Despite Ronald's inital desire to visit the seals without disturbing them through human interaction, he was unable to leave Billy to die.

During his time in the 'Red Wilderness', Ronald describes in detail the range of seal behaviour he witnesses, including the water dances of young adults, seals sleeping underwater, bull fights and mating. Concerned about the revealing the location of the 'Red Wilderness' seal colony, Ronald's only visitors are a Coastguard concerned for his safety and a young evacuee, but he is forced to enlist the support of locals when a ferocious winter storm separates numerous seal pups from the mothers upon which they were still wholly dependent. Ronald's style mingles scientific method with personal interpretation and human emotion. He refers to other comtemporaneous literature on seals and other locations where Grey Seals were found at the time.

The Seals and the Curragh (Introducing the natural history of the Grey Seals of the North Atlantic) : Illustrated with eight half tone plates, line drawings and maps : Published by JM Dent and Sons Ltd : First published 1954.