The story connected with taking the pictures of the seal presented here is quite funny. In order to approach the seals as close as possible it was necessary to walk through a stony beach which was periodically flooded. The walk was quite tiresome and lasted several dozen minutes, but I was most surprised when, after a more than an hour’s shooting session with seals it turned out that all the paths leading back had been flooded by a tide. A quick decision or the things are going to get even worse with each single minute. I take my shoes in my hand and as long as water level is still lower than 50 centimeters I know that I can make it back without soaking the equipment. Fortunately my presence was ignored by the seals and I was able to take enough photos during one hour so that I could think of going back. If I had postponed my return for an hour or two, it would have been more difficult to get back without some outside help. Harbor seals occur also in the Baltic sea. Their population there is about a few hundred specimen. A seal reaches 180 centimeters in length and can weigh up to 150 kilograms.
Last minute news-09/2020- Helgoland- Germany
There are still problems with bird identification, but over the years I have met many experts in this field and I know who to turn to for help in identifying photographed birds. And what about mammals, and quite specific ones such as seals. I looked at the photos of seals taken many times and you could see the differences between the individuals. The question is whether juveniles differ from adults, or whether they are a different species of seal, because ultimately there may be three species of them in Heligoland. In Poland, it is probably best to turn to the Institute of Oceanography of the University of Gdańsk. I did so and met with a very friendly reception and commitment to help me identify the gray seals I have marked. It turned out that among the gray seals there were also harbour seals lying on the beach. So, the bulky gray seal gallery has been reduced by the photos of the Harbour seal that ended up in the proper gallery. Note that in some photos there are two species of seals - Harbour and Gray. I would like to thank employees of the Institute of Oceanography at the University of Gdańsk, and I would like to thank Mr. Wojciech with whom I had the pleasure to contact and who helped me efficiently and selflessly - THANK YOU, GREETINGS!
Last minute news-09/2021- Helgoland- Germany
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