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Whyspend60yearsstudyingsealsByVictoriaGillScien__reporterBBCNatureIn1951a__allorganisationcalledtheNorthumberlandNaturalHistorySocietytookaninterestinthehundredsofgreysealsthatlolledonthetinybeachesoftheFarneIslandsoffthenortheastcoastofEngland.Everyyearthesealswouldcrowdashoreandgivebirthtotheirpups.Thelocalnatureenthusiastsdecidedtotrytofindoutmoreaboutthepupsthatwerebornthere.AtthatpointweknewhardlyanythingaboutgreysealsD__idSteeltheNationalTrustsheadwardenontheFarneIslands____sBBCNature.Sotheydecidedtotag10newbornpupstoseeiftheycouldfindoutwheretheywentandiftheyreturnedtotheislandstoh__etheirownpups.Soatthebeginningofthepuppingseasontheteamattachedcattleclips-metaltags__rkedwiththenameandaddressoftheorganisation-to10sealpupstails.Threeweekslaterthetrustre__ivedaletterfromNorway.AfellownaturalisttherehadfoundsealpupnumberonealiveandwellonabeachinSt__angerapproxi__tely650km400milesfromtheFarneIslands.JohnWaltonistheislandsproperty__nager.HeworksfortheNationalTrustwhichownsthesite.Thatpupswam400milesina__ximumof14daysheexplains.Itwasthefirstrealindicationeverofthedistan__ssealscouldtr__el.Thiswasthebeginningofaprojectthathasnowbeenrunningfor60yearsstudyingFarneIslandgreysealslivesandbeh__iour.AtoughbeginningMrSteelisnowinthemidstofthisseasonssealcount.BetweenearlyOctoberandearlyDe__mber1500sealpupswillbeborn.Almosthalfwillnot__keitpastthefirstthreeweeksoflife.Thepupsh__etostayoutofthewaterforthefirstthreeweekswhentheyh__etheirwhitecoatwhichisnotverywaterproofexplainsthewardenwhospendsninemonthsoftheyearontheislands.ButwhenyoureborninNovemberonarockintheNorthSeaitsatoughstarttolife.Stormsoftenwashyoungpupsintothewater.Andoccasionallyyounginexperien__dmothersabandontheirpupsandheadouttosea.Welost41%lastyearsaysMrSteel.MotherNature__rtainlykeepsthemincheck.DespitetheearlychallengesforeverynewbornsealtheFarnespopulationishealthyandslowlyandsteadilygrowing.Therearealmost4000sealsonasetofislandswhichisdesignatedaSpecialAreaofConservationSAC-meaningitisprotectedunderEUregulations.Thissuc__ssfulhu__nsafeguardingofthesealshabitatisahugeturnaround;justafewdecadesagothesealpopulationwasdeliberatelydeci__ted.Theani__lsusedtobethoughtofasathreattolocalfishstocks.Andduringthelate1960sand1970sthousandsofsealswereshotinacullthataimedtoprotectthelocalfishingindustry.AccordingtotheNationalTrustbetween1962and1983approxi__tely2000_____fe__lesand3000pupswereshot.MrSteelexplainsthatlocalfishermenhatedtheseals.Theywerestillshooting__allnumbersuntilthe1990she____sBBCNature.Butasthefishingindustrycollapseditwasgraduallyrepla__dbytouri__.Todayseveralcompaniesusefishingboatstotakegroupsofpeopletovisittheislandsandadmirethes__neryseabirdsandofcoursethegreysealsthat__ketheirhomesinthisbleaklybeautifulpla__.FollowthatsealOvertheyearsresearchersh__emovedbeyondmonitoringthesealpopulationtofindoutmoreabouttheani__ls.DrBernieMcConnellfromtheSea__m__lResearchUnitatScotlandsUniversityofStAndrewshasbeenstudyingtheani__lsoftheFarnesfor25years.Heandhisresearchteamh__eworkedontheislandsforweeksatatimestudyinggreysealbiology.Inoneoftheirmostre__ntprojectstheteamfitted_____sealswithhi-techdataloggersthatmonitoredtheani__lsmovements.Thesetagsgluedontothesealsfurandsimplyfelloffwhentheymoulted.TheyworklikemobilephonesexplainsDrMcConnell:Assoonasthesealscomenearshoretheyphonetheirdatahome.ThisdataincludeslocationwhichthetagsmeasureviatheGPAsa____itesystemandthedepththeani__lisat-measuredviaapressuregauge.Wecanreconstructthediveprofilesoftheani__lssaysDrMcConnell.Theydivealmostcontinuallydayandnight;80%oftheirtimeatseaisspentunderwater.Wedontcallthemdiverswecallthemsu_____rs.Eventhoughtheyreair-breathing__m__lsjustlikeusthatswheretheyspendthebulkoftheirtime.Partofthereasonfortrackingthesealsinsuchdetailistoensurethattheirhabitatisprotected.Theconservationstatusoftheislandsmeanstheymustbe__intainedinawaythatisf__ourablefortheseals.WhentheyreattheFarnestheyforagewithin50kmofthe[islands]buttheyrequitecapableoftr__ellingfurtherafieldsaysDrMcConnell.Thereareboundariestotheprotectedareasandweveshownthatthesealsmovewayoutsidetheseboundaries.Weh__etosafeguardthefoodsupplyoutintheNorthSea...andallowthemtocompletetheirlifecycle.Theresearchalsocontinuestorevealsomeofthere__rkablewaysinwhichthese__m__lsh__eevolvedtoliveinthewater-withstandinghugepressurestodiveupto70mandusingtheirsuper-sensitivewhiskerstotrackthewaketrailsleftbythefishtheyhunt.Andsin__sealsarenearthetopofthefoodchaintheyrelyonahealthy__rineenviro__enttofeedandsurvive.Ifthesealpopulationisdoingokitsonebigindicationthatthingsareokintheirenviro__entsaysDrMcConnell.Theyreawindowintothehealthoftheseas.。