Beachmaster returns to dominate the haul out beach

Last year was the first time that we have seen a Beachmaster dominating the haul out beach, monitoring all seals arriving and leaving the group. He successfully mated with the 2 females that had pups on the beach. One year on and the same Beachmaster is back! Difficult though he is to identify, he does have one distinguishing feature - a series of rounded scars low down on his right flank. More angular scars have appeared on his back in the last 12 months, presumably as a result of the sparring he has done to keep other males away from his females.

Beachmaster 2004 (Left) : Same Beachmaster 2005 (Right.)

A weaned white coat made a surprise appearance on the haul out beach this week. At around 3 weeks old, this seal pup came, quite literally, out of the blue. As it had not been born on the beach, this pup must have swum in from a nearby breeding site. It looked very tatty as its white coat rubbed off as it rolled about on the beach.

Moulting white coat turns to look at the incoming tide (Left) : Moving up the beach (Mid) : 1 day later with less white fur & asleep (Right.)