The first reports from Pelican Point in Namibia say ‘it feels like a war zone out there’ as the Namibian Dolphin Project (NDP) team arrived at the site to find over 400 Cape fur seal carcasses.
The west coast of South Africa and Namibia has been experiencing mass seal die-offs at colonies since September 2021. The NDP commented that there has been a washout of crustaceans and fish near Walvis Bay that may have been caused by harmful algae.
When the NDP team documented the carcasses, they noted that the seal pups don’t seem to be suffering from malnutrition or any effects of pollution but their best guess is that it is an exposure to a biotoxin from their mother’s milk.
They have however identified parallels to the seal mortality events of 2021. They will be conducting more sampling to determine the cause.
The NDP team has requested public help with donations, as they do not have dedicated funds for seal research, but need the support of the public to understand what’s going on along the coast of South Africa and Namibia.
Read: Cape fur seal mortality event on South Africa’s west coast
For those able and willing to help, donate here. They are also asking members of the public to report seal carcasses or unusual deaths of marine life with the date and location to [email protected]
Pictures: C Kovalcsik/ Namibian Dolphin Project
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