The birth of seals in Namibia

The birth of seals in Namibia

Along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, from Cape Town to the mouth of the Orange River and then the entire coast of Namibia, is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of Cape seals. The thousands of colonies of these animals move frequently, but several of them invariably occupy the same places near which there are always schools of fish. One of the most interesting spectacles in nature is the birth of seals in the first two weeks of December. Seals belong to the group of animals that nature has equipped with the possibility of holding gestation, and therefore all mothers are waiting for a short period of two weeks, during which almost all give birth to almost all children at the same time. It is caused, as in many species of animals and even fish, by defense against predators, which always kill only as much as they need to eat at the time. This allows thousands of other individuals to live up to age when they will also give birth to offspring. During December visits to the seal colony, we can see tens of thousands of tiny seals shouting, always looking for mothers and demanding food. Unfortunately, the chance of survival of seals until adulthood is only 30%.