The islands’ more remote shores present relatively safe places for seals to give birth. Grey seal pups are weaned by their mothers for 19 days, then left to fend for themselves. They will live off their own blubber reserves for a similar period before entering the sea to forage for fish.
The melting Arctic ice may be a reason for the exotic appearance of Freya, a female walrus who arrived on the Netherlands’ shores in August 2021. She became a draw for visitors and media, exuding a certain charisma, even a sense of melancholy, being so far from home. Sadly, her subsequent reappearance in Oslo harbour in Norway proved fatal. The authorities felt forced to have her shot in the interests of public safety.
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