Monitors say the 21 seal pups spotted at the Tees estuary this year died, mainly from mouth rot.

Every new seal pup monitored in an estuary this year has died, mainly from a condition called mouth rot, a conservation research group has said.

For the last two years, the Tara Seal Research team has been monitoring common seals and their pups at Seal Sands and Greatham Creek in the Tees estuary. As part of its Tees Estuary Seal Study the team counted 21 pups at Seal Sands but found they had all died weeks later in the Tees Bay area.

Dr Sue Wilson, from the conservation team, said the pups dying before they reached two months old was “devastating”.

  • TWeaK@feddit.ukEnglish
    5·
    2 days ago

    I’m sure “mouth rot” has nothing to do with anything that’s being dumped up river and washing out through the estuary they inhabited.