Vlieland’s Klapmuts is Born and Beach Closure Ensues

A young hooded seal was born on the beach of Vlieland yesterday morning. This seal species is normally only found in the Arctic region. To give mother and child peace, the beach is temporarily closed.

According to Sander van Dijk of Seal Center Pieterburen, it is special that these hooded seals were found on Vlieland. “These seals occur naturally around Greenland, sometimes they get lost,” he says.

The balaclava stands up red list of endangered plant and animal species from the IUCN nature organization and is classified as ‘vulnerable’. In the 1990s, hooded seals were seen more often in the Netherlands, when things went badly for the animal in the northern seas, writes Omrop Fryslân.

“In the past ten years we have received three,” says Van Dijk. “That indicates how special this is. The fact that another was born makes it extra exceptional. As far as we know, that has never happened before in the Netherlands.”

So far it seems to be going well with mother and child:

After consultation with Seal Center Pieterburen, the police and the army have closed the area to the public. Now that the beach is closed, the seal center hopes that the animals will be disturbed as little as possible.

“For seals, hooded seals are record holders in shortest maternal care: there is only four days of nursing time. In those four days, the mother does not eat anything either, all care goes to the pup. The pups also gain an average of about 25 kilos in those four days” , Van Dijk explains.

After the nursing period, the mother leaves. “Normally, the puppies are born on the ice. They are also left alone there,” says Van Dijk. “A pup sometimes lies alone on the ice for weeks, feeds itself by licking the ice. This is how they get moisture. At a certain point they get so hungry that the instinct activates and they go into the water on their own to to hunt.”

The closure of the area is a temporary measure and the seal center is therefore concerned about the condition of the animals in the longer term. The seal center calls on people to leave the hooded seals alone. “We see that people adhere to this reasonably well. It is really important that the animals can follow the natural behavior undisturbed.”

According to Van Dijk, it does not seem that the hooded seals on the beach need extra care. “We do wonder how the pup will be. The mother will leave in a few days and leave the animal alone on the beach. Normally they can keep themselves alive with fresh water that they lick off the ice, but That’s not really an option right now.”

Van Dijk emphasizes that action is only taken if there is really no other option. “If the puppy gets into trouble, we will of course take care of the animal. We have experience with hooded seals. What we also think about is, if the puppy is doing well, but he needs a push in the right direction, to make it catch an animal and release it yourself a little further into the North Sea.”