Interestingly, the young seals found on Polish shores are typically not born in that part of the Baltic Sea, as the local coastline lacks suitable breeding grounds for these marine mammals.
As a result, most of the pups end up there by accident and require rehabilitation, which is provided by the University of Gdańsk’s Marine Station on the Hel Peninsula.
"This year, we've taken in 60 grey seal pups, and so far, we’ve been able to release 16 back into the wild," said the station’s director, Iwona Pawliczka vel Pawlik.
"In recent years, we’ve consistently seen between 40 and 80 seals undergoing rehabilitation each season," she added.
Michał Owczarek has the story.
Click on the audio player above to listen.