A birth on Cordouan’s plateau
On thursday, June 11th, the lighthouse keepers discovered a baby seal on the plateau near the lighthouse. Dedicated to their missions of monitoring and preserving the site, they immediately called the Marine Natural Parc of the Gironde estuary and the sea of Pertuis, so that adequate measures could be put in place to protect the baby seal.
An extraordinary event
The harbour seal is a well-known species that mainly lives on the northern coasts of France. This species live in colony anc can be found in estuaries, sandy bays and shallow coastlines. The french region of Britain represents the most southern point were the colony lives. However, in recent years, some of them have been frequently seen on the Atlantic coast.
On June 10th, the keepers noticed an adult female seal on Cordouan’s sand bank. On the next day, they discovered a newborn seal alone at the same place.
Establishment of a protected area
To optimize the chances of survival of the seal, a prefectural decree has been implemented on June 12th around Cordouan’s plateau.
Despite those protection measures, the young seal disappeared a few days after, only to be seen stranded on a beach near Soulac-sur-Mer. Seeing its health conditions, a veterinary examined it : it turned out to be a female ! The seal had then been trasferred to the wildlife rescue center. After being taken care of for a few weeks, the scientific teams will release the female in her natural habitat, near a colony.
It’s important to respect the safety measures put in place regarding wild animals : the disturbances caused by human activities significantly reduce their chances of survival.
