While COVID-19 lockdown will go down in history as a time devoid of in-person gatherings across the globe, in the United Kingdom, one quiet area on the coast of Suffolk became the hot spot for gray seals.

Orford Ness, a spit off of Great Britain that serves as a coastal nature reserve, has become the home of Suffolk’s first breeding colony of grey seals, according to the National Trust.

It is believed that these seals traveled from well-populated colonies in Norfolk and are now the first breeding colony to arrive in Suffolk — likely thanks to its remote location and very limited disturbance from humans.

The first 200 adult seals arrived at Orford Ness in 2021 when visitor access was significantly reduced in an extended period of COVID-19 closures. 

As it turns out, simply being left alone was all they needed to thrive.

Just last month, the first gray seal pup of the 2024 season was born, and this winter’s breeding season has already seen 80 pups on the scene, with many more expected. The site is now home to about 400 seals, up from about 200 just three years ago.

“We’re really happy to see new pups being born here at Orford Ness for the fourth consecutive year,” said Glen Pearce, Orford Ness’ property operations manager, in a statement.

“Despite the seals’ arrival in 2021, we held off talking about them until earlier this year because we wanted to give them the best chance of survival. Being able to talk about them this year, in real time, is a great opportunity to share more about the species and to help people understand how their own actions and behaviours can impact them.”

Human disturbance, which can include any human activity in the vicinity of the seals, is one of the biggest threats to the species, as it can cause them to change their natural behavior.

Gray seals are not listed as endangered and are protected under U.K. law, but they certainly face threats — mostly from humankind — including fishing nets, boat strikes, marine debris, pollution, or disturbance from fishermen and tourists.

Globally, the gray seal is also one of the rarest seal species, with about 50% of the world’s population dwelling in British and Irish waters. That makes this baby boom on Orford Ness that much more spectacular. 

“We’re really lucky,” Matt Wilson, the trust’s countryside manager for the Suffolk and Essex coast, told the BBC.

“They’ve formed a breakaway group, found this site and moved into the space we’ve got here. It's a real privilege to have them on this site and a responsibility, too, for the team here.”

National Trust rangers have been closely monitoring the shores from a safe distance and performing regular counts of the adult seals, Wilson added, sharing that in the 2023-2024 breeding season, they saw 130 pups born at the site.

The first pup of the new breeding season arrived a week earlier than last year, Wilson said, which is a phenomenon that has also been observed in other locations in the U.K.

“Understandably, this is a crucial stage of the seals’ development. To give them the best chance of survival, we limit access to the colony and monitor them only from a safe distance,” Wilson said in a press release.

“While the rangers on Orford Ness have undertaken specialist training for monitoring seal health, welfare and even rescue, we still take the lead from the experts, such as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and British Divers Marine Life Rescue, and won’t get closer than a couple of hundred meters.”

It’s a tough job, to see the darling faces of newborn pups — who weigh around 13 kilograms at birth and are covered in a thick, white coat — only from a distance. 

But pups born in the winter face even more risk. 

Unlike their common seal cousins, which can swim within just a few hours of arriving earth-side, gray seal pups’ coats keep them warm but aren't waterproof, putting them at risk of drowning.

They also feed six times a day for up to 10 minutes at a time, drinking milk from their mothers for about three to four weeks, and at that time they also begin moulting their thick coats. Any disturbance or behavior change could impact their ability to survive in those first precious weeks.

Still, National Trust rangers will continue sharing photos and videos of the colony taken from a distance as they continue their regular counts and observations.

“In the meantime, we’re asking people to refrain from visiting out of season and to avoid using drones or other aerial equipment in the area,” Wilson advised. 

“It’s important people remember that unauthorized access, by foot, boat or drone, is not only illegal, but also dangerous because of the unique and remote nature of the former military site.”

Although members of the public are welcome to visit Orford Ness in the summer, they are not allowed to get close to the seals.

“Even during our open season for visitors, the public aren’t allowed on to this section because the seals are still here through the summer,” Wilson explained to the BBC. “It’s a great factor for them, this lack of human disturbance, for what is a really amazing occurrence on this site.”

The success of the colony indicates the health of both the species and the marine environment, Wilson said, because they would not choose to reside on Orford Ness unless there was a good food source for them.

“It is such an enormous potential; it is a great environment for them,” Wilson said.

“We really hope visitors will continue to work with us to help protect the colony, which is such a brilliant wildlife success story for Suffolk.”

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Header image courtesy of Hanne Siebers/National Trust