Seal of approval for St Abb’s

A record 1,806 grey seal pups have been recorded by National Trust for Scotland rangers at St Abb’s Head national nature reserve. Ciaran Hatsell, head ranger at St Abb’s Head, said: ‘If you go back to 2007, there was no colony here at all and the population is still growing, which shows that the ecosystem is healthy and that they have plenty of food in the area. It’s hard to draw conclusions about the sudden rise without the science or data behind it, but we can suggest it’s down to lack of disturbance or that the seals have come from another North Sea colony that has reached capacity. There is so much to learn and that’s quite refreshing.’ nts.org.uk