Five thousands common seals have disappeared from the shores of Orkney and Shetland! Yes, disappeared, as no clue to what has driven to their plummet has been found. Are they washed away by the seas? Is a mysterious disease alarmingly shrinking the population?
orkney common seal
These two possibilities are ruled out as no obvious signs of their getting washed up on the shore are found. Neither, has any case of the mammals' death by any disease been found - it is the case also with pollution.
Callan Duck, the university's senior research zoologist, said
If there had been one, we'd have had carcasses washing up and people would have seen them at the shore and noticed them.
Cuing up with concern for this puzzling decrease in the seals' population, the University of St Andrews' zoologists have undertaken the first complete survey of Scotland's common seal Phoca vitulina population.
The loving creature both for the locals as well the holidaymakers and tourists, if disappear being failed to find the arms against it, would cause a considerable loss both for the environment and the tourism industry.
In the bid for the survey, two teams of researchers are equipped with helicopters. These are no ordinary helicopters, but are equipped with military-specification thermal imaging technology.
They will fly for two hours each side of low tide.
This survey may reveal the disturbing 45 per cent reduction in the population at Orkney and Shetland and may provide them with clues to help the meek mammals from extinction.
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