MSc students do the Seal 'Walk and Talk' experience

Students studying for an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity at the Tremough Campus visited the seal haul out beach on the 31st October. Out on a field trip organised by Brendan Godley their lecturer in Conservation Biology, the students had begun with a wildlife trip out to sea with Orca Seafaris from Falmouth. A small number of seals were visible in the water and Sue outlined the main seal behaviours and data to observe in the wild.

Above the seal haul out beach (Left) : Sara Dowler talking about wildlife management by the National Trust (Right.)

After the seal walk, the students headed off for a lunch at the Red River Inn. Their next port of call was the CPR Learning Space where the students heard an illustrated multimedia talk about Grey Seals. This covered a wide range of topics including seal ancestry, basic anatomy, the identification of seals, the seal calendar, seal behaviour, feeding habits and the main hazards for seals in the wild. The Seal Group and the Centre for Ecology and Conservation are keen to develop links in the future to expand seal research in Cornwall. This will ultimately benefit the wild seals visiting out coasts.

Students enjoying refreshments (Left) : Questions and answers about seals (Right)

Footnote : This week the Seal Group has been asked to provide information on the disturbance of seals around our coasts by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust. We were happy to oblige with both data and specific illustrated examples of disturbance.