Document GKjzmN7vgV0MZGp9E20wYQ1Gv

Sanl Deaths In Cornwall Autumn 1969 HONS 063136 Tho ocourronce of deaths amonCBt seal pups in Cornwall it. tho Butin.m of 1969 woo invoutigatod by thy Seals hoiiourah Unit of H 3-ll-C. The Officer in Charge of the Seals Ronearch Unit gave interviowc to the press and info.-i.-d thorn of tho projmoo of thane investi eat ions. Uow that thu3a oro oowplutc, wo thov.i.'nv it would 00 in tho best interests of overyeno if on extensive account wr> ionduoad. tvt following report is not in the struct foru of a soienlifie puper and io somewhat more dlscurnivo; it io hoped that thoso rcoeivin;, it will bear tills in mind. Hevorthelosa, the investigations reported and the con clusions reached have been puruuod with the utmost scientific rigour. Aotnowledffenwinto The Jlatura.1 Snvlronment Research Council (HI C.) and the Sealn Resonroh Unit arc muoh indebted for tho help they received from people mentioned in the report, and in particular, for the oo-operijtion they roceivod from Mr, Jones, who runs a soal eunotuary at St. Agnes in Cornwall, and the Koyal Sooiety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (R S P C A ). Tho facilities aoooruod by tho Ministry of Agrdoulture, fisheries and Food (11 A F F ) locolly wore of great assistance and we are particularly indebted to Mr. A.V. Holden of tho Department of Agrioulture and Fisheries for Scotland Fiuhories Labor.:tory at Pitlochry, and to Mr. S.JS. Allen of the Nature Conoervanoy'e Mcrlewood Research Station for the chenioal analyses. MQNS 06313J u) Conn Merabi ft nubUo ooncern hub oxpreonftd in the autumn of l?6p follow, inj; ropori'i of dead rmd (lying seals being washed up on Cornwall nhoroc. The reports referred mainly to young snals but also to adult uoaln wufi>rjn/* froni lesions whit.li worn dcuaribed as "burn marks* Those reports followed eloBoly on tlm reported deaths of around ten tliouoand guillemotn and othur birdu of the auk family in tlm region of the Northern Irish Oeo in Ueptomh*)' end October* Homo of those birds were found on oxanination to have higher lnvolo of now orgunochlorine compounds in their livers than are normally detected in routine monJloring, and thin loud to suggestions that the seal deathn might be Himilarly connected with pollution. Tho NGHC Se.ilw Henearoh Unit investigated the event with the help of vnrLouit other orgnnlmxtione and people. Moot reports of noair. wore received through Mr. K. Jones, who for the past nine years has run a no;*3 uanoturnry nl .'it. Agnest and from I-ir. O. Griffiths, R5PCA Inspector at Hetmanc". The HAM* V** >rinnry Investigation Centre at Truro curried out oome of the pont-mortem a uninatiowe, was responsible for all the bacterid ogoal findingo and provided laboratory and offioe facilities. Other organisations asslnteil with analyses of organs and tiusuos. Ww w It hoe been stated that more than 50 pup eeals have been found dead or dying en the Corninh coast. Mr. Jones hao given details of 1 reports of seal pups in difficulties, of which he has personally confirmod lfl, Four pups ore Mill alive in his care. Mr* Griffiths has recorded 10 seals, plun A penned in Mr. Jones. One slch pup, which nubseifuently died, was reoeived from the liOss of Scilly. There is thus a total of AO reports oonoerning 36 reals which wore oither found dead or died soon afterwards. There were two reports from September, five from October and the remainder from November and the early pert of Peoember. Figure 1 shovn the distribution of the dead and dying pups* Mr. Jones says that ordinarily there are reporte of R or *) pnpe in difficulties each y.esr and Mr. Griffiths nuggouto a nimil-o* r.ig">-e{ ilm-i report.** for 1969 ere more numerous than usual. It is not certain to what extant these reports indioate a true Increase in the number of druid pups* The publicity In the looe.l and notional preen, and on television, h *d the additional effect of causing a greater proportion of dead seals to l*e reported, head souls are not usually reported to the RSPCA or Mr. Jonen because they are pmt human aid. Uf the sealn whioh died, 9 were subjected to a full poet~mortm exami nation nnd 2 others were professionally examined. Pour living pups were examined At Mr. Jones1 neal oanctuary. One of these, collected At fortresth <<1 d December, woh a fat and healthy pup with an estimated weight of about 60 lbii| it appeared well able to< fend for itself. MQN3 063136 V' ! t' A luT.-n-l pup (77f'V) C; tvi red the niMiuf nt (Jodprvv, i.mi; jn pn-.n-r - rn) i 1 i; i , It l 42 lh't /md h:*| rvvernl ha tc-mor)'r on y'.t' body, uimil-r to limit,- jjiTJ iul'.'iJ by adult iumIo f.n pup''. not llio.tr ,,wn wit a i: It solicit fo,-r|- ing* There wore no tilgnu of groos infection. ThJr umM would have hud imill ohtnoe of surviving in tins wild. II died from arcid-'nl'1 cum.on on 'j l^ccniP'-r. A third waft captured at Newquay on 26 November Mnri tho fourth at St* Agnes on 16 Kovembor* These wore fed on a mil.k/mtrcprinr diet with mackerel. Both woro very much underHived for weaned pup?? and probably weighed about. 30 lbu. each* Mr Jonns thought they were not putting on w-nght properly considering bow much thoy ate# One bad noise superficial eye infection fi-nn which the organinmu Ce >;/nobu.ctorion* pyoginci and r^ovOomoo..^ if-nyvijm:; < worn iivl 1.^1, Moth pupa produced a thick noual mucuu (au did two oJder neuln at. the sanctuary)* Thin inucun yielded on oulture an organinm of the genua Protean and Kaclmrielaa poll. It 1 unlikely that any of theae organicintf waa directly rouponai.h.le l or tho poor condition of the pupa. C. pyo;oneu in often preaent normally on imioouM membraneu and skin; K. oolj and j'rot cun. both enterobacteria, arc widely distributed an non--pathogenic organisms, but may oun Infections, an own 1'.i! lid uiimHaO * The remains of a pup oarcaee found at St* Agnes on 4 Docomber wore examined. The animal had benn dead about six weeks nnd the head and the anterior part of the body wore missing. Itu weight at denth was eotimntod at about 20 lbs* It was probably either a utill-birlh or a starveling which had received no milk from its mother. . Ths findings of the poct-mortem examination of ten other seals are summarised in Tuble I* One nonl (77^9) died from accidental aophyxia. One (6022) wan found to be suffering from pneumonia, but only thn lungs worn available for examination. Two (60^7 and 7620) were rnoordnd an dying from, septicaemia. The cause of death of tho remainder wnu diagnosied at: starvation* kith the exception of 7709i vhioh died from accidental cuunen, and 7h?0, the body weights of the remaining never animalri w^rc nil 35 lbo. or leuii. The average weight of a Qrey seal pup at birth in nb'uit 31 lbn. and, under normal feeding, it renohes a weight of botween 90 and 100 ltm, by its novnntiM*nth dny of life, when it ie weaned (Coulaon A- Hickling, IS'C-l). Koet drey anal pupo in Cornwall and the south-west generally are born in late Septombor and Ootober (Davies, 1957) so that it ia highly probable all the pups examined were well pant the age of normal weaning. Thus all pujm weighed (except ^C?.0) were grossly underfed. 7397 > which weighed only 1? Ibn, had the lowest weight ever recorded for Orey seal pup, 7620 wen estimated to be 65 lbs, but the post-mortem report said there wnn "come degree of starvation". Probably thin estimate wan much too high; a pup weighing 65 lbn ie plump and fat with a well-developed blubber layer and would uhow no signs of starvation. Various organisms were oultured from the seals exnminod. Encherichln go)! was reoovorod from five of the specimens, Protouo up. from one and stroptor.00c 1 from two. These organisms am probably normally present as non-pathogens^ but they cm load to oopticuomiu (as in 630/) in an animal le ;>por condition. Pasture! la multocido ( P, peptica ) in pathogenic for a large number of different animals. "Probably the mont important role that ranturnlln multocldn playu in disease io th.it of n'Secondary lnvodnr when tlie#rniiietitnoe of ttie animal Imo boon reduce^ by varieuo otronsren" (M^rehnnt it Paoker, I967 pp. 339"340), Pspturalln haemolytica io nlno an important wcondary lnvador. An %ith Pr mu1t(>clds environntenial iaotorn arc tliought to be Important in leading to infection. MGNS 063139 y. () Kri.tn Four of* tlm unimalo oxnrnJnnd n.. or,`;.minimi ro'M bn cul L;;r. . u.'Ui |>vcib]y clur> to tho antibiotic thry hod wiv'd wlu.i........ ... u.<rct, Tin:: .Uhm:' Samplou of tinnueti from opeoimens 1 7# 47 and `(i'-'j? wore subjected la u viroJorjcsl examination by the Veterinary Investigation Centro, Hrintol. Menu)to wrrr all negative. The bacteriological findings show that nc.nl doAthr. warn not dun to any epidemic disease. Tho pneuinonii. and septicaemia dingnon'ul probably raprr._ floated the tormina) atagon of a decline due* to Inok of food, rath'T thar. tho infnotion of an otherwise healthy animal* Jttngnonsn, weights and b icUriolotion! cionitirmtiono indicate that the primary cause or death wan innlmtlrilion. Ah tho nnimnls examined represent 2`j per cent of the total reliably reported dond ( a very high percentage for an episode of thin kind ) it ir, juctifiible to extond this oonolunion to tlie mortality an a whole. Possible cannon of thiu utarvntion are dieoutjsed later* The adult noals at the Lizard Reports were reoelved of sick adult nealn at the Lizard* The Seals Research Officor visited the Lizard and interviewed two people who had neon those aea}sf the following is a oynopsit of their Account* A member of tho crew of the Lizard lifeboat saw a large seal, about C feet in length, on the old slip on the afternoon of ?6 November* H appeared to be gnnpiiig through its mouth and its nostrils wore opening and cloning. There was uomn white muouo around tho nostrils and mouth and the oral wiped at its face with ito flippers. Patches of fuel-oil vbre present on the body (thin is usually seen on saals in this area) but on tho sides of tin neck was what Was dosoribod as a "burnt patch" where the fur bed gone* This was not tho sort of mark that oould have boon oaunod by ontanglewent with a rope* The following day a pup was seen on the slip* The pup appeared to have a sore eye surrounded by mattery grease but it van lively and mapped t the llfeboatimin'* boots* It is not usual to see seel pups at the Lizard but Kynenoe Cove and Soapy Cove usually produce a few pups tch year. On Novembor a big seal was seen with a raw band around ito nock* Thin coal was gasping and ito back jerked in a convulsive way. On the ftftornonn of 29 Novembor a very big seal was Born on the din and was Approachod to within two yards. Ilu upper lip was roiling hack and its eyes had & glazed appearance. It wiped its face with iln flippers* Tie animal gave off oteam from its skin. On Sunday $0 November, throughout tho low water in the middle of tho day, a very lurge seal wow ashore on a rook. This was npproaohed to within three yards* The seal wnu lively end aggros.nive and barked at the lifcboilmm* On the right sido of its neck was a patch about fivo or nix inohen in diameter, from whioh the hair had gone. The skin wuo 'rising up* and though it wan not blooding there won an ooze from it* It was possible to nee tl*e flesh and white fibrou. A companion,of tho lifsboatmnn, present at the time and who had been corroborating this acoount, oaid that the lesion resembl'd an over grown oattls ring-worm. On tho loft side uf tjio neck w n patch of about tho bwiiu uize. Here the hair wan present bi*l wan matted by a greasy and mat lory discharge. Tho somI rubbed at tho3e palchon will) itn flipporn from time to time. HONS 0631*0 I ) <1 ) The IIr*ho-Atnin thought that tho Imiiomi <h?nonb.Ml w i tml. nvd (n.-ir." Ml,e woundn* He nn,id Die akin had not been torn* Jlo w.m aurc Dial l !i> odult ne.i.ln flighted on those four oocaniono wore all uop.ir.ile anim-ilr.:, A loon) ftnherman gave ft similar, but leoo extern* vr-, account. and .... tli.it #5'" * oal seen on Sunday ir/. hi hove c itr-M iv im I, in a lobster pot or a wreok when hunting for bream or confer. Hone of those seolo was Boon after Sunday 30 November* A report of sealn with "burn inarksN round their nock:; at l.jnd'u KnJ was mudo to the RSPCA Inspeotor at fenzanoe, but the aniimlu could not he located. The description given of these lesions tall ion with lenionr obtiervori by membero of the 3oaln Research Unit on both Gr*y and Common nealo off Kant Anglin and in tho Wash* Their aetiology is unknown 1ml their nppenranoo corrospondo with a long-standing ulcerative oonditinn of the skin with baoterial and possibly fungal infection* It la not possible to make a diagnosis of the condition reported in Cornwall aa no specimens have been secured and no qualified personc have seen these Beals* A similar ulcerative Inuion with nocrotic areas hau boen doooribed from tho dolphin Lngenorhynohuo obliquldom* (Johnson A* Rldgway, 19^9)* PpsudomonM aeruginosa was isolated from this lesion; the same organism was identified from tho infooted eye of n seal in the present investigation* It seemo most likely that these leuionn are duo to teoondsxy infection of a minor wound on a seal that is in poor condition. Superficial wounds in seals tako a long time to heal ab the lowered skin temperature oaueed by immersion in water hindors tinmio repair* If the sealn seen at the Lisard were bulls, which seams likely no all woro des cribed as large, then the neok lesions were on the oroa most often wounded during fighting in the breeding season* The signifionnoe of the gasping reported in two of the iienln is rot known* Seals sometimeo suffer from lung-worms, but this would oaurn* them to oough, not gasp* If the seals were nuffering from pneumonia, an a result of lose of oondition and subsequent infection, they might show respiratory distress* Seals never normally inhale through tho mouth* Some adult deals might be oxpeoted to bo in poor oondition at the end of tho breeding season, but there is nothing to connect the described oondition of the adult eesle at the Lisard with the roportu of deed and dying pups. s Ci X&L ouontlon of Pollution Mention has b*on mnd. of public feurn of nvi ronmontal poiooning, arouood by tho d.&tho of ao* bird,. in tho Northern Xrirli Son oarlior in tho nutmnh of 1969* Tho oxintenco of o Minlotry of Dofonco (MOlf xporimantal aatnbl inhmont near 1'ortrenlh naturally addod to this opcculation about pollution. With thlo In mind, olgno of poisoning worn onpociall.v look'd lor. No ovldonoe haa come to light that nitlior tho doatho of tl.o pop:, or tho oondition of tho aiok adult aoola woro caufiod hy pollution o, ironing, nitlior chronic or acute. MCNS 063141 5. There wore no ulcno of gastritis or ontcritin (apart from that nnnocinted with septicaemia in two eaaoo) in any or tho pupa examined pout-mortom. Tho doooription of tho uldcndult ooalu (loon not allow diagnosis but it io very unlikely that the loolonu observed could hare roaulted in chronic poisoning. It oould bo opooulntod thut they wore cnuncd by acuto contact with u corroolvo oubntanon, but it ia impousible to aulmtantiato oraron investigate auoh a suggestion with no apeoimcns available, and it lu thought probable that those lesions resulted from lnfoction of woundo, ' Timms samples from 7 of the Cornish seal imps ween analysed for organophnnphorun anil organoohlorine renlduoo. Ho or.'puiorhcnpli.rnr; compounds were deteoted. Orgnnoclilorinn compounds looted for were the pesticides dieldrin and DI)T, tho breakdown products hl)E end THE, nnd a group of subotsnoee nommonly know ae polyohlorjn itod hiphonyls or I'CDn. These oompounds are all highly lipophilic and hence round (Unsolved in the body fat. Previous anrey for these mihutnnacu in deals has been by analysis of blubber samples, but tho emaciated st. to of the Corninh seals allowed only liver to'be routinely uood, though throe blubber enmploe were also examined. neiiultH for liver nnd blubber agree when oorreotod for fat content (Mae Table Tl). A suckling oeal pup may become oontaminatod with orgonoohlorinoo from roeidues present In Its mother's fat. Such rosiduoo might pass through the placenta to oontamiuote tho .foetus bofore birth or the pup might become contaminated by drinking milk with organoohlorlne-opntanlnatad milk fat. The possibility of oontsminatlou through the skin exists, but tho quantity whloh oould be Involved In tho course of the pup's life would be minute. Although quantitative data are luoking it is believed that tho great majority of tho organoohlorlnoa found In seal pups that huve not begun to food for themselves havo boon lngosted with the milk and that tho contamination found in the pups therefore reflects tho general contamination of the seed otook. It follows from this thet the amount of oontominntlon present in a suckling seal pup depends both on the degree of oontomlnatlon of its mother'* milk and the amount of milk It lias rsooivod. If for any reason less than tho normal amount of milk la taken, the total dose Of orgnnochicrLueu obtained from the mother will be smaller thin If the pup hrcl taken n fUll ration of milk, llowovr-r, if tho deprived pup then subsequently starves it will use up whit little fnt it lias but not the dissolved nrc'inoelilorinse. The rerun ..p thin in a rise in the concentration of orgruisohlorinpc in the fnt. Tho situation In thus oxtremely complicated. Truo oonpnrlsono botweon organoohlorlno eoncentrntIona cun only l>c made l*' tho nutritional status or the anltwiln oampnr'id In similar. As. all tlio Corninh malarial originated from starving pupn, n clnea of animals not HONS 063142 (...) ) . , lnveutlgntod In earlier work, It was decided to compare Uie Corn lull ormploe wJth material obtained from `j ooal j >uj#j, J well nourished and 2 starring, lakon In Joinwry lyfO fror another <(>!opy. Tlio renultn obtoinad (non Tublo IT)nra not oa.ny to Interpret. A comparison of vnluon iron ttm woll nourlohnd and starving uoaln from tho Northorn colony shows that ths ooncontrntj on of orgimoc.hlorinoo found lo hlghor in tha starving pups. An explained onrliar thin does not haply that tho starving seals hnva rcooivad a groatcr quantity of organoohlorinon than tho woll nourished sooln. In fact the opposite is the r.nno, beonusa tho utilisation of fat by tho starving animaln h a oonoontrntod tho organoohlorinoo into tho small sraoimt of fat remaining. As neither of the starving animals from tha Northern sample was as emaciated as any of tho Cornish seals examined (except for 779?), the concentration effect in more marked in tho Cornish sealo. On tho other hnnd, tho woll nourished animals from the Northorn colony, having rocoived moro milk fat containing dissolved organoohlorlne compounds from tholr mothers' milk, have therefore received a higher total done nf orgsnoohlorinee. When the oonoontrationa of the various compounds in tho tissues nro oorapurod it is found that dloldrin, BDT and its derivatives UDE and TOE are found in similar concentrations in seal pups from both Cornwall and the Northern colony. Qeoauue of tne concentration effeot oausod by starvation it soeras likely that dlaldrin and DDT pollution in Cornwall in not as heavy oa in the area from which tho Northern scale wero obtained. MCNS 063143 o Tim mine appears different for PCB, and Corn)eh uoaln contain 3 to 10 llin-ri morn than the seals froa the North but considerably icon than weals from Bant Anglia, where Grey and Coranon wenJo have been found to contain between 3i>0 nml 5*0 p.p.m. PCB In their blubber. The difference found in Corninh ealc in in the proportion of PCBa to other org.unoohlorines, but it ehuuld lie eeiphnnlned that the sample ia email and the mnteiinl (nturveil pupa) unusual so no definite ooncluoion oan be draun. The toxtoity of organoohlorines generally in vary imperfectly known. It in believed that when an animal in wall nourished , with ample r.it ren-rv', nonnldernble concentration!) oan ha tolerated. If the animal'u nutritional etiitun dnclIren, fat ia metabolised and the dissolved organocblorinen : r re leaned into tho blood) such deloterlouo sffeotB an are known concern DbT and dieldrln in birds. POBs appear to bo lean toxic to birrln than DDT. No information at all is avallabls about the toxioity of organocblorinoe to seels but even the most heavily oontriminated oniunla studied, thoon from Enut Anglia which oontalnad 350-520 p.p.m. PCB, 30-36 p.p.m. DDT and 0.Q-1.0 p.p.m, dieldrin in their blubber, did not appear to be Buffering from tiny symptom!) that oould be oaoribed to poisoning. Tha Ministry of Agrloulture, Fisheries and Food la ourrently carry Inc out n monitoring programme to determlno the level of organoohlorine com pounds in marine organisms and fish in the South-wcnt. So far no exception 1! ly high levels have been reported. - Other contaminants Other tissue samples from the Corninh neal were nnalynod for tr.ioi-n of the heavy metals, areenio, lead and mrrcuiy. The reunite, together with thone from the oontrol sample of seals from the necond colony urn net out in Tublo III. The levels reoorded are of the same order nn has been reoorded from ninllar organs from other mammals, though the mercury value0 appear higher, but there are no data for normal levoln in seals. Dnaiden the three elements listed in the table, a qualitative sc. n wan made for other possible toxlo elements, but nothing exceptional war dotectml. It had been euggestod that tha . HOD research eutnblinliment at Nauoekuke, on the cliffs above Portreath, might be the source of poluonoun affluents, but all effluent from the laboratories at Nnncekuke is chemi cally treated to render it innocuous, and it is hsld in tanks prior to discharge into tho see. Tha effluent in monitored hoth chemically and hiologionlly, using marine organisms, before It ia disohargod. Tho auggeation Is thus quits unfounded. "What," asked one national newspaper, "is the myulorioun red froth in the sen beneath Nanoekuko?" These red waters, noon banoatli lianookul.o, at Qodrovy and elsewhere nn the north Cornish coast, are caused hy water running from the adits of the tin mines after rain. The phenomenon is well known to Comishmon and tha Rad River, which discharge!) into Ot, Ives Hay about n mlla south of Qodrovy Point, has received itn name from thin. MOMS 063144 ) Reporto of oho.ilu of dead floh wore oiroulnted. Time* n) 3. appear to re'itc to a tihoal of young pilchard, found unhoro juut to tint wool of I'ondom liy the keepor of the Pondone light-houue on 29 October. Tbeno Hull worn ouuiiincd by the Dintrlct Inspector of Finherles at Nnwlyn, who pant speci mens to the HAFT laboratory at Burnham-oii-Crouoh. These wore analysed for organochlorina ooeipourv'. , innlading PCBo , but no nignifionnt oonoentrntlonn Wei's found. It won oom.-luded that this uhoal hnd stranded and imbooquontly dried out. A report of undersized pollack being oaught eufforlng from loolona described no 'burnu', both intornal and external, has oIbo been widoly circu lated. The Inspector of Fisheries could not substantiate this report nnd no upeoimene wore found. Cod and other gadoid fishes like pollack aro not Infrequently found suffering from uloeratlve lesions. In ths oourss of tha whols seal investigation only three deed aoa bird:-, were found, und although birds wars not espoolally lookud for, thin ssemn s very low figure for ths time of the year. Ths lack of reports of dead bird in ths area suggests there was no gross environmental pollution. later observations at asa To oheck whether ths mortality at Cornwall in 1969 npproaohed totality, a fishing vessel was ohartsred on 11 Deoembor to look for surviving pups at known breeding localities (Figure 2) . The Carrack rooks, about 3 miles west of St. Ives, were first visited. This is a regular hauling plaoe for Oroy seals in the summer, but is not a breading site. Ho seals, either adult or pup, were seen at the Carracko but a very heavy ground swell whloh broke over the landing places would liave mads it Impossible for ths seals to haul out. At tha eastern limit of St. Ives Day a young seal wan seen in tha water about 100 yarda to tha north of Fishing Covet although stained with fuel-01' and rather thin about ths nsok it was not obviously sick. Another young seal was assn swimming vigorously in the surf to the wsst of Hell's I'outh. At Crane Island a young seal waa osen does to the rocku, and another was soon off 3smphirs Island and two mors oightingn were made at Halph'o Cupboard. It is possible that these were of ths same animal. Another young seal was seen just to ths west of Oull Rook. At Oull Rook ths tide forms tn eddy where flotsam and the bodies of dosd animals aooumulate, aooordlng to fishermen with loo.il knowledge. Ho dead aenls wars seen hers, but two oiled guillemots were pioked out of the The sighting of six or mors, probably nsven, young seals off the ooast between Oodrevy Point and Fortreath indicates a fair survival of pups, on ths basis of summer sightings cf adults. Only one of the animnln neon (the first sighted) did not appear to be in a perfectly healthy condition, but some fur-.hor mortality of ydung might be expeoted In the course of the winter No adult seals were seen during ths trip; they were probably lying up in tb oaves. HONS 063145 u) IJincuBBlon Tlio primary oaune of death of the meal pupa found on the Cornir.h ooaet wne Btarvolion, thought to have toon oauoad by the pupn becoming ropnr.ileil from tliotr mothere before normal weaning time. The lactation period in Orey uoale la very nhort, looting lone than 3 wekn. The mother then deeartB her pup which faate and lonee woi/-lit, boforo b-jgirm- lng to fond for itself. IJhile it eucklosthe pup pule on woiglil at an autnnlshlng rate, as muoh an 5*1 lbn/day being recorded (Coulnon A lliokling, ly(d) though probably around 3-4 lbo/day ie more unual. The link between the pup and itn mother, ito only eouroe of food for tlie firnt three weekn or ite life, ie a dalioate ono and ehould it be broken early the pup'o chances of uurvlval aro greatly dooreaoad. It ia believod that a pup which linn not reached a weight of around 65 Ibe by its lnut milk feed la unlikely to curvivo the winter following ltd birth. Cow meal* are known to lose eontaot with their pups ao a result of bid weather or dioturbanoe through crowding effeota or human interference. Crowding does not necessarily Involve largo numbers of oealn; even a small number of senlo in a oonfined apaoe may constitute a oroud and disturbance to normal behaviour may follow, no that mortality through cowo losing oonteet with their offspring is by far the commonest cause of pup death on Urey seal breeding grounds. Starveling pups wander about trying to feed indiscriminately from oows, or even bulla and other pups, and aro frequently sevegoly bitten. Infeotion of these wounds may 00our oa the pup's condition falls and eventually death may result through septioaemla. The localities on the North Cornish ooaet where seals are found are all exposed to northerly or westerly weather and most, if not all, the pups pro duced' in this area are born is the nee-oaves. Although the caves offer some proteotlon from the weather, the spaoe Inside may be limited, particularly at high tide, and orowding of the type mentioned above may occur whan oven only half a dosen seals use a Oave. A pup whioh otroye outnide its oave may well have great difficulty in finding its way baok again, particularly if the entranoe to the oave is beneath the water. It la probably the leok of good breeding sites whioh has limited thn Oroy seal population in Cornwall. Orey sealn occur most abundantly whore the breeding Tommies have acoess to sheltered beaches or low grannlande behind a beaoh. fly far the largest concentration of Orey eaale in the South-want in that oentered on the tip of Pembrokeshire, from Strumble Head to Caldey Island. This arsa, together with part of the Cardiganshire ooaot, supports a population of about 300 pups, of whioh rather more than half are born on the iolando of Ramey and Skomer. About 200 Orey asals live on the Scilly Inleo, mainly on the rooky lelete to tha west o'f the Inhabited inlands ami about 60 pupo are produoed eaoh year. The numbers inhabiting Cornwall nr0 lean oertain. Tha seals are considerably more dispersed than at aithor tho Selllias or Pembroke and it eeema likely that their numbers are added to in thn summer by animals from the Pembrokeshire colonise. However, a figure of 2f)O-?50 eeals for the Cornish ooaut from Hartland Point round land's End to thu lizard eeeinn reason able. Such a population would produos about 60-75 pupn ouch year. HONS 063146 (.) 10, ) Am It wen ooricludcd that about 40 pupa were r~ 1 i !tb' V reported it >( ( ,1 rid then, Mur,1 probably noiuc dead animcln which were not found (though it ia thought Hint them* were vary few) thin would reprensnt a high morlalit; if nil thn pups imim' from Uio Ci-rnliih rtock, flrey n<* > 1 r, ape 1 >>/;--lltmd mil main, life upans nT up In 40 ye,-mi loing recorded. Thoy Iwve fow predators other than man and thn adult morlnllty rat,*, Jm thn nhnniion of human interference, lo thun vnry low. High juvenile morlnlil.v im 1.1*11, on tho other Iim ml, are the rule at Grey nl brood in;; colonlei,. On thn bniiin of existing life table dntu (Hewer 19^4) it ban l*,,,n slimmed that on average (>Of, of all pupil din In their firnt yeur, montly noon after birth and Henning' Thore lo, of oourue, year to year variation and populntiono breedIn1; nt tho foot of oliffe are very liable to total mortality of tbo pupa in bad weather, A npell of heavy neuter)y weather 1b believed to Imvo hilled nearly nil the pupn born at a breeding aite under the cliffs of Konar Hill in Shetland in 19<9. In Cornwall, uoalo are very little, if at all, molested by man. Killer wliolen, virtually the only seal predator in English waters, aro rarely seen off Cornish counts. As the Cornish seal stocks do not show a rate of increaoe comparable to that observed in the past quartor-oentury nt other Cray wool eel onion at, for example, the Faroe Islands or the Orknoyn, it is concluded that the Juvenile mortality rates in Cornwall must,.on average, bo high. The prob able renaon for this ie the laolc of suitable breeding sites on the inhospitable Cornleh count. There ie a possibility that not all the pupa found dnad originated from Cornwall, and the much larger Pembrokeshire population eeeme n likely eoureo, Many young seals in Pembrokeshire were marked between 199? and 1969 by the Went Wales Nitturslists' Trust and of the 62 marked animals recovered outside the marking area 20 have been reooversd on the South-west Peniniiuln; onn from tho Soilly Isles, 19 from Cornwall and 4 from Devon. Of tho 25 animals marked in 1969 one has alroady bean re00vsred from Cornwall. Table IV allows ths lnoldsnos of winds of over 20 knots (corresponding to slightly mors than Poroe 6 on ths Beaufort soals) as reoorded nt Milford Haven and Si. Mswgan in September, October and November 19^9. Winds of thin speed could oreate sea conditions bad enough to oause some pupn in unfavourable sit uations to booome separated from their mothers. ; Between ^ and 9 November strong winds blew from between wont and north (Tallis V) with speeds of up to 41 knots. All but 7 of the 40 reports of deed mid dying pups follow this period of bad weather, 00 it m,TM likely that nowi of the animals reported oould have bean driven by the wind from Pembrokeshire to ths Cornish coast. It may be noted liere that there was no similar reported mortality of scale from the Pembrokeshire oount. Only two sickly pups had been noted l Halo Fort Field Centre by 10 December and a represent.-.tive of the l/nst Wales Nature lints' Trm<t ooiinidern that there are only five reliable records of dead or dying pupn, four from around Hnnorbler uwl onn from Tenby (Fig. l). H lo highly likely that other ilonthu occurred whioh wore not reportod but it in certain Hint there w-uh no exceptional mortality in l-'embrokeehire. ' HONS 063147 .o Summary nr.d Conilurion ) About Hf) reports of dead or dying drey boh] pipin on tho Cnruinh oor'ot between Newquay and Fowey wro received in tlia autumn of l'Xi'l. Kluven of the dead ueolo were examined, of which 9 woro subjects of full ponl-mortaiM:. Tho oauno of death Nan determined to be starvation) no evidcnco won found ni an epidemic. Four adult uenle eeen at the Lizard at the end of November had loniom: on thotr nooks. Thane laeionn ere believed to bo tho reeult of woundu, reooivod in fighting during the breeding neenon, becoming infeotod. Anslyao* of tinnue aamplee of the dend eealo nhow that the Corninh zeal otnokn, like thone from elaewhere in the British Inleo, nrc contaminated with organochlorino roeiduee. The level of penticidn (])1)T and dinjdrin) oohtnminntion in relatively low but PCB oontasiinution in relatively high, though muoh lower than In oeele from East Anglia* Tnc ooncontration of load end arsenic in tho Comioli seal pups is of the name onler an that found in other mammalo* Moroury levels are higher; The seal pupa which were found dead or dying had beooute separated from their mothers before the normal weaning time which is about tlirea weekn after birth, and had been Insufficiently developed to start feeding for them selves, The separation was probably oaused either by disturbnnoe or bad weather. Healthy pups were still to be found on the Corniuh coast after the last of tho reports was reoelved. Somo of the pupa reported from Cornwall may have originated from Pembrokeshire. A spell of high winds in early November might have cauned pupn to drift from Pembrokeshire to Cornwall. . It to ooncluded that the deaths were part of the normal juvenile mortality of the coals, always likely to be high In Cornwall, and that extraneous factors suoh as spidsmios or pollution, were not involved. W. Nigel Bonner 3ealo Ronearoh Officer Seals llesearoh Unit Lowestoft. MO AtS 063148 C> Tablo X Summary of poet-mortcra roports oil ton Grc.v seal nuns ) ((of.No. Duto oxutulnod Sex Weight Diagnosis Qrftanloma cultured 602? 27.10.69 P. 6U07 27.10.69 M. mi 7620 19.11.69 20. n.69 P. P. 7634 29.11.69 - 77X7 3.12.69 P. 7789 0.12.69 7843 - 9.12.69 mi 9.12.69 7052 9.12.69 P. P. U. 11. lungs only Pneumonia 30 lbo. Septicaemia 12 lbs. Starvation (69 lbs) Ssptloaemiai some degree of starva tion 25 lbs. Starvation (pneumonia) 22 lbs. Starvation 42 lbs. Asphyxia 22 lbs. Starvation 35 lbs. Starvation 33 lbs. Starvation Paoturella raultootda l'asturellu multocidu Escherichia coll - Escherichia ooli - Pastaurella haemolytcn Escherichia coll Streptocooci Bachorichia coli Proteus sp Escherichia ooli Streptococci - * eotlmatodiciQht MONS 063149 Tissue Origin Cornish Pat content per sent 5.2 Cancentr ation In tissue, v?a wet wei.3ht Sieldrlr OS TBS UJT Total insecti cide orgsnochlorine K3 0.08 1.9 0.31 0.22 ' 2.51 46 Lire? Southern (well nour- iahed) 9.Q 0.07 0.5 0.09 0.5 1.16- 3.7 northern (starring) 7.6 0.07 1.0 0.15 0.9 2.12 6.2 Cornish 16.7 0.25 6.7 0.69 3.7 11.34 160 0STE90 SNOW Blubber northern (well nour ished) northern (starring) 86.2 0.38 4.7 0.66 4.4 10. u 34- 73.3 0.57 9.5 lel6 7.4 18.63 49 ....... ......... J Table II Synopsis of concentrations of organochlorine compounds in seal tissue. (Tor full details, see Appendix). ) TAJU.'E III Coneontrntloriu or Aroonle, Lend fc .teronry In Soul tionuen, oxpvonuod no micro,;rnmu per (>rnm dry wui,';ht ol' t.inr.uo. (A))/ily.'oo by O.B. Allon, Morlowood .tooonrch OtaUnn, ilnturc Conoorvimuy. flriin/wovur-Snmln. Lnnci rihiro). Connontrntlon.Il3lfL dry weight Spooimon Mo. (7843 ( 7047 1) 785?- 7020 a (7634 l] 7709 r?j (1) (HQ63 l [ 11066 fH l |{ HQ07 3t G> 11064 } j>( 11065 Titmue Liver II Llvor Kidney Liver it H Arsenio 20 54 3 15 a 1 10 29 Lead 1 <1 1 <1 5 4 3 2 i.iorouiy 5 5 13 12 a 9 7 11 Liver Xidnoy Liver Kidney Liver Kidney Liver Kidney Liver Kidney 17 42 <1 'l 3-5 3.5 20 <1 15 <1 2.6 3 4.9 5 3.5 6 2.2 <0.0 0.6 4 1.4 5 4.1 1 2.1 6 4.3 3 1.4 3 -- MONS 063151 o) Tnblo IV Hunbcr of hours in tho month with roaor.loti windspeodu or ?0 knots or over ut St. Vkmr.nn nnd Milford llnvon. (into from i-leteoroloclcnl Orrico) St. Mongnn llilford Haven boptoniber 3 30 Octobor 31 20 Jlovnmbr 171 70 'fable Y Avornco wind speed end direction for throo dayn jn November, 1969, ot Ot. !4n*(;nn and Milford Haven. (iXittt from Meteorological Offloe) November i 78 9 St.Masftuni Spsod Direction Milford Hsveni Speod Dirootlon 19.3 343 12.0 330 24.7 288 15.8 286 20.2 272 17.9 271 knots decrees knots dofirooo HONS 063152 LlBt of Fjnuron Wq.1. Bap to show distribution of rcporlo of dood and ilyiiv: Beala on tlio Cornloh ooaot. Five oimilur roporta from Pombrokeohire ore also ohonn. Jig,2. The coast searched for young soals. MONS 063153 Jlul'omneop Coulnon J.C. & Hickling G. 1964- The breeding biology of tho Gj'u.y ooul, llnllchoorim grypua (Fab.) on the Fame Inlands, Northumberland. J.Anim.Eool.JJ i 405-512 Davion J.L. 1957* The geography of tho Cray seal. J.Mammal. JO (3) 1 297-31 Honor H.it. 1964. The Determination of ago, sexual maturity, longevity and a lifo-table in the Gray- aoal (Holiuhoortie Johnston D.G. & Ridgwsy 8.H. 1969- Parasitism in some marine mammals. J. Araer. vet. mod. Assoo. 155 J 1064-1072 Merchant I.A. A Packer R.A. 1967* Veterinary Bacteriology A Virology. Iowa State University Press. Araer. Iowa. 7th ed. 1967. X 752 PP- MONS 063154 ^) j>Pri--i.'nu j Corircntraiioua oC orKnnoclilorino compoundn in .ion] tJnuuns, cxpi.Tji.mcn) no pnvte per Million, net weight of tinnno. (Ajiulyuoe by A.Y. Jlolden, tVeohwQtor Pinherien Uiborulnry, Dopurtmont of /v;ricultuTo & Flehorioo for Sootlnnd, Pitlochry, Pertli shire.) aprounon Tiosuo /'at Contont per oont Concentration in tieoue, p. p.m. wet weight r " " %Dioldrin DDE TDK DDT PCB T 7043 7047 7W ;i/.:o ft 7634 & '(!? . ' i*. ivcruga ^ 3 ho ^ 7043 747 7052 ldvIIor II n 11 Slubber II II Avoraa* 4-3 2.3 4.5 4.1 11.1 2.6 6.7 5-2 37.5 0.2 4.4 16.7 HQ63 HQ66 11067 Avurafto liver II M 10.0 9.2 7-9 9.0 HOG 3 HQ66 rHi IIC67 ' iJ Average li * I10G4 \\ 11065 Blubber N II Liver 11 Avern/ge IIG64 11065 Slubber II 'Avnrnr.e 04.7 87.4 06.6 06.2 7-4 7.6 7.6 00.4 67.1 73-0 < 0.01 0.07 0.11 0.05 0.15 0.04 0.11 0.08 0.44 0.23 0.08 0.25 0.04 0.11 0.07 0.07 0.37 0.58 0.20 0.30 0.05 0.08 0,07 0.54 0.59 0.57 0.9 1.8 . 1.2 1.0 1.6 1.0 5.1 1.9 0.15 1.3 O.57 < 0.04 <. 0.02 < 0.02 < 0.04 0.31 0.4 0.1 0.8 < 0.08 < 0.04 < 0.04 < 0.08 0.22 17 36 77 31 43 26 90 46 8.7 1.1 4.5 173 8.1 0.69 5.0 187 3.2 ` 0.27 1.7 lie 6.7 O.69 3.7 160 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.5 6.0 4.9 3.3 4.7 0.7 1.3 1.0 10.3 0.6 9.5 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.86 0.65 O.46 0.G6 O.09 0.21 O.15 , 1.17 1.15 1.16 0.7 5.2 ) 0.4 3.0) 0.3 2.2) .) 0.5 3,7s l 44 | | 6.5 4.1 34 M 2.6 jg -----------r# 4.4 34) 0.6 3.9) 1.2 0.4) ) 0.9 G.2 | |> 7-6 50 )!,' 7.2 46 7-4 ' 40 j MONS 063155 figl. P1a.fl 16 c/x'sP'rvtwfwrw^ -ft-povCs cj-draA & i?cd& -h fc* Ccwmist. Ceti(t'. five Siwi Iav it^vt ^vevvv fc>*JvoilUivv: <we a-fcc 3Aev*v, *Q*S 063156 S"i3. C- T lk< <LX)aS.L %c*f UOUK^A SQaJi .