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Flora & Fauna (media)
Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)    (Mammals)    24710
Spættet Sæl (dk)  
Harbor Seal 354    (4 photos)
2019-10-21   Kalvebod Fælled, Amager, Denmark

Dead. Two animals found along the dike today. One larger than the other speculating if they were mother (pictures 1-3) and offspring (picture 4). I found them a hundred meters or so apart along the dike north of the northern bird tower.

In 2002 a larger outbreak of Phocine Distember Virus, PDV, caused the Danish populations to collapse, leaving only 50% to survive. Don't know if this caused their deaths, but with another large outbreak in mind from 1988, it's plausible to speculate that the disease flourishes about every 15 years...
Harbor Seal 358    (3 photos)
2019-10-26   Kalvebod Fælled, Amager, Denmark

Dead. The same large seal as 354 from 5 days earlier.

A large difference is obvious, however: The head has been cut off. I spoke to the ranger in chief the other day, telling him about the two stranded seals. He was interested, so maybe he cut of the head to try to establish the cause of death?

The smaller seal was gone, probably taken by the currents and the low tide.
Harbor Seal 582    (3 photos)
2021-11-13   Kalvebod Fælled, Amager, Denmark

Dead.

High tide and a southern wind are the right conditions for dead seals to show up along the coast getting trapped behind the rocks below the dike.
Happy Birding
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