The conclusions of the Thames census on Tuesday were published by the London Zoological Society (ZSL). At present, about 2,866 fur seals and 797 common seals live in the mouth of the river.
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“It’s a really fantastic story for the Thames, it shows how the estuary is recovering,” says conservation biologist Thea Cox. “We have come a long way since the 1950s,” he adds.
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In the 1950s, scientists declared the Thames biologically dead. The condition of the river was even so bad that the British Guardian wrote at the time: “The tidal sections of the Thames look like poorly managed open sewers.”
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Now, however, seals can enjoy a varied diet, with a choice of more than 100 species of fish, including trout and plaice. Seals have territorial behavior, some of which have lived here for five or six years.
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“It’s actually an all-inclusive holiday for them,” says Stuart Barnes, who organizes boat cruises for animal lovers.
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