IN THE WESTERN ISLES

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18308, 16 February 1925, Page 7

IN THE WESTERN ISLES

THE GREY SEALS' NURSERY.

Few people have seen the grey or Atlantic seal (writes Setbn Gordon in the London "Morning Post"); stilt fewer have landed' on the remote islands where in the late autumn season they drop their young. The common seal, on tho other hand, is frequently seen ftround the coasts of Britain and is common in every sea. loch of the Scottish Highlands, hut in size it is lee's than halt that of /its Atlantic relative,' and the habits of its young are very different. The common seal has its pup in the earlier summer months of the' year, and the youngster is able to swim from the day of its birth. The grey or Atlantic seal (Halichoerus Grypus), on the other hand,,.chooses what one would have imagined' 'was' the" most unsuitable ' season. ; for. I the > appearance of .its. young,: for -.the' little >fellows <\fe born in September, October;. and .November, and thus while still' of a tender age ha,ye fierce Atlantic storms to .contend with. Another-point of difference between the two species. is that i the young grey seal does not willingly takci to the water for a -.full, month' after its birth, and 'from this it has beeii inferred that it has become a sea animal only ' comparatively recently in its history. From Hebridean Isles the crofters, and fishermen were in the habit, of .sailing out to the distant seal islands. each "autumn in October and, November, and clubbing both old and young seals for their skins, and also for the oil that they yield,, said to. be,excellent for cattle. There was much wanton cruelty in these raids, and the Grey Seals Protection Act now renders it illegnl for these animals to be' killed during their breeding season. But a greater protection that airy act or law is the • increasingly bad .weather which of late autumns has visited the Western Isles, rendering it impossible for weeks on end to land upon the exposed ishuids 1 of the grey seal, where even in fine weather the surf breaks with immense power.

Unwieldy Creatures. It seemed that a month of waiting would fail to produce a day sufficiently quiet to enable me 'to visit one of these hardly-accessible islands, but at length came a morning .of light airs from the east, bright sunshine, and calm sea, and with a crew of hardy' Gaelic-speaking fishermen I sailed out over the lorig Atlantic swell. There was much bird life upon the waters this late autumn morning. Many handsome longtailed duck were riding buoyantly on the sea; black guillemots were black no longer, but appeared almost as white as seagulls in their winter, plumage. Swiftly overhead a great northern diver winged his way northward, steering, no doubt, towards some favourite fishing ground. At length, hazily, the gre# seals' island appeared, and. as we approached it could be seen that upon the shore above tide-mark large numbers of grey seals were watching us. Soon, as we lauded, there was a general scramble of, these huge, unwieldy creatures—the grey seal sometimes attains a weight of fifty stone —towards-the water; but, luckily for us, there i 3 no sentinel and no definite system of alarm amongst the tribe of the grey seal, so that only those actually in sight or hearing of ua took their departure.. One enormous, old seal, perhaps because of- the. swell deadened the noise of our arrival and the splashes of his relatives, as they took to the water, slept peacefully upon a rock until a sudden slipping of nailed boots in close proximity aroused him

with a start, and he made a qnick and undignified, departure. .

Quite sixty feet above, hjgh tide a baby se'al was lying asleep.. Oii the rocks forty feet below' its "mother "also"' slept. It seemed almost incredible that she should be able to climb, even at high tide, up the steep, and slippery rocks to suckle her offspring, but she had' the satisfaction of knowing that" her youngster this' elevated position 1 wajs secure against even the [wildest storms. ; Bemoving my boots,-I set out. to stalk" that old mother seal,, and, reached a point not more than a couple of feet from her. She still slept, but perhaps ; sub-conscious warnings were working; within her, for she twitched and heaved,in her sleep as a dog does when dreaming. Suddenly,' although I made no movement, she awoke, arid in an instant:;sprang to the sea, falling in the- water - heavily and with a resounding splash.

i A Fierce >Fight. ■• AH around us on the "grass' young grey seals (in their creamy silk coats were, bleating and mewing. Que, a few days old at. tne. most, looked *at us mournfully out'of enormous black eyes, while another, accepting our 'appearance; pihilosophicallyj slept peacefully in a ..attitude;; at .times, awakening and eyeing us sleepily with prodigious yawns. Two mother seals ton a small grassy "flat" fought fiercely witih wild roarings "and hoarse meanings. They savagely bit 1 each other- until blood streamed from their necks. Then one of them broke off the contest and snuff fled with ungainly gait '.. 'towards ttil. sea.- Near the top : of'the isle'a" great number of ; barnacle ;ge6se t fed;• ih'.'thfe peaty soil were., many; -.burrows of Mother Carey's .chicken*.". ""!'.''.

And from 'the surf thai • broke upon that lonely 1 shore'innumerable' heads of seals appeared,,.and eyed,us with sot emn enquiry as ,we walked ly as intruders, upon the isle, of those that are ■sometimes' known 'as Claim Righ : Fo G-hea'sah—the 'Children ; of a King; beneath; an Enchanter's Spell.