2009A Ash : Born 04/09/09 : Mum is S355 Oz

The first pup of the season is always very special and Ash was no exception, although he did prove very elusive and kept well hidden after his initial sighting by Terry. His mother 'Oz' was very attentive and if not on the beach, could be seen just offshore keeping an eye on Ash.

As you can see from the photo, taken when Ash was not far off weaning weight on 17/09/09, he turned into a healthy looking pup who probably weaned successfully.

2009B Beech : Born 13/09/09 : Mum not seen

Whilst this pup was only seen a couple of times, it does look like it had started moulting and was quite fat, so it will probably have weaned successfully.

2009C Citrus : Born 25/09/09 : Mum is S309 Dog and Ball

Citrus was a real favourite being the first pup on the haul out beach. Citrus' Mum 'Dog and Ball' gave us a real scare on her first day too, as she had the bizarrest feeding strategy. Every time Citrus began looking for milk, Mum would roll over and start digging frantically with her flippers throwing up shingle into Citrus' face. It was painful to watch for the first few hours until Citrus had her first, albeit brief, successful feed. Pups always look their cutest up to 3 days old, so when Katrina and Sangeeta from Countryfile spotted her, all previous filming plans were shelved to make Citrus the star of the show! Citrus was successfully weaned and Sandra managed to catch her pelage pattern as she moulted, so we are hopeful about being able to identify her should she return to the beach of her birth.

2009D Damson : Born 18/09/09
2009E Elm : Born 20/09/09
2009F Fir : Born 20/09/09

Terry observed 3 white coated seal pups loitering in various positions on and off a north coast bay. Sue got a photograph of one of these pups, but is not sure which of the pups it is. It was well hidden, sleeping soundly in a cave mouth, waiting for its Mum's return.

This pup too looks partially moulted and is a healthy weight, so it probably weaned successfully.

2009G Gorse : Born 28/09/09 : Mum is S266 Claws

Gorse is a drop dead gorgeous pup, well named as her fur had a yellow tinge on first sighting. Gorse was hungry when first spotted by Sue, so s/he began howling for Mum, who duly obliged and left to sea to feed Gorse. Mum is pretty special too, having had a pup the previous year on the same beach (Rags.)

Gorse was observed with Mum on 14/10/09 playing in the shallows, still with relatively little moult. She probably weaned successfully.

2009H Holly : Born 25/09/09 : Mum is S262 Ghost 2

A very large rock fall occurred on Ghost 2's pupping beach causing mayhem for all the mothers, who were well and truly put out of their routine, as they were unable to access their favourite pupping spots. We were just glad the rock fall occurred before the pupping season started. This is Ghost 2's third pup in 3 years at the same location. (Bonnie 2007 and Rocky 2008)

We are not sure if Holly was successfully weaned or not.

2009I Ivy : Born ?? : Mum is S359 Teardrop

Whilst Ivy was never actually seen, we knew s/he existed from the behaviour of a pretty amazing adult female. Teardrop emerged down a rocky ramp from a cave that could have been considered inaccessible for seals. She had an incredible journey to feed her pup, crossing an enormous boulder field and then climbing the rocky ramp to enter the cave.

We do not know if Ivy was successfully weaned or not.

2009J Juniper : Born 01/10/09 : Mum is S64 Line dot line

Juniper was first spotted by Terry. S/he has a first time Mum, who was already well known to Seal Group members - she was added to the identification database in 2002. Since 2003, she has only been since once every 2 years. S64 proved very attentive despite her inexperience, as she observed her pup from just offshore and lay protectively close to her pup when ashore.

We do not know if Juniper was successfully weaned or not

2009K Katkins : Born 02/10/09 : Mum is S138 Pups 3

Watching seal pups has its highs and lows and Katkins showed just how extreme our emotional responses to pups can be. Another drop dead gorgeous pup, this time a boy, Katkins had an sooty patch from the top of his head down his back. His Mum was another first timer 'Pups 3', who had first been identified in 2004 as a youngster. Despite constant harassment from the Beachmaster male, Pups 3 raised her pup almost to weaning time. Suddenly on 16/10/09 things went horribly wrong as a member of the public called Gweek to report an injured pup on the haul out beach. Katkins is thought to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had got caught up in a Beachmaster challenge and had been very badly bitten on his cheek, which had a large open wound with a loose flap of skin. Within hours, despite the fading light, two climbers and a British Divers Marine Life Rescue team supported by Cornwall Seal Group members rescued Katkins from the beach. He is now called Buckbeak and is recovering well as a result of excellent care by Gweek's animal care team. Phew! Click here for a report of Buckbeak's rescue on the BDMLR and NSS websites.

2009L Lychee : Born 09/10/09 : Mum is S112 Ghost

First spotted by Simon, Lychee is the latest pup to be born to our most special Mum 'Ghost', who returned for the 7th year running to have her pup. The rock fall on her usual pupping beach forced Ghost to have Lychee on its margins.

Lychee was last observed on 19/10/09 and a pup was rescued a mile west on 21/10/09, but this pup (called Hufflepuff by the Seal Sanctuary staff) was probably too big to be Lychee.

2009M Maple : Born 16/10/09

Maple was obviously in trouble the first time s/he was seen by Sue. At a few days old, Maple should have been soundly sleeping on the beach with feeds from Mum every few hours. But Maple was ridiculously active and hauled all over the large cove, presumably looking for Mum. Despite being 3 days old at the most, Maple then decided to go for a swim and was surprisingly competent in the water, which was fortunately very calm. After an hour of swimming all around and out to 50m, Sue was relieved to see Maple return to the shore and called for help from British Divers Marine Life Rescue, who had been alerted earlier in the day. Despite watching Maple for 7 hours there was no sign of Mum and all the adult females that Maple had approached had sniffed her and then hurried away. Maple had obvious injuries to her chin and fore flipper and a suspected bite from a male she has hassled for milk. By mid afternoon, Maple was rescued from the beach by Dan and Tim. She is now recovering well at Gweek with a new name - Ginny. Click here for a report of Maple's rescue on the BDMLR and NSS websites.

2009N Nutmeg : Born 28/10/09

Photos of Nutmeg are not yet available. First spotted by Terry, Nutmeg has Mum in attendance, but despite Terry getting good photos of the mother, she remains of unknown identity.