I’m currently on vacation in northern Denmark. Today, I saw a bunch of dead seals on the beach in Skagen that seemed to have their heads ripped of. What caused this?
I’ve heard in a German forum, that some orcas have been seighted around northern Denmark earlier this year, could this be it?
Jeg holder lige nu ferie i det nordlige Danmark. I dag så jeg en flok døde sæler på stranden i Skagen, som så ud til at blive revet i hovedet. Hvad forårsagede dette?
Jeg har hørt i et tysk forum, at der tidligere på året er blevet observeret nogle spækhuggere rundt omkring i Norddanmark, kan det være det?
6 comments
Orcas, sharks who knows? you could probably report it to naturstyrelsen or something and they can decide if they want to check up on it. i think it would be weird for orcas to just tear of the head and leave the rest, but again, who knows
Fugleinfluenza?
You are very lucky to see them in person; they are a rare breed
It can just be that the heads were the first thing to go when gulls and shit came by to have a snack.
Eyes, cheeks – all the soft parts of the head really – are yummy to most scavengers. And when it comes down to it, the head is not really that well attached to the rest of the body so it might fall of quite easily.
Then again, people also collect animal bones and maybe somebody had their opportunity to get a seal skull in their collection.
I think as you mention the only predator that have been in Danish water that can do that kind of damage would be the Orca. Orca’s are also known for playing with their food, and sometimes they do kill prey just for sport.
The shark breeds that live in Danish waters would not be big enough to prey on seals, with the exeption of the basking shark, but it is a filter feeder. Theoretically Danish waters could be suited for the great white shark, but there have never been a sighting of that species.
I dont think this has anything to do with predators.
This looks like the work of scavengers.
I couldnt say what killed them. But my guess would be disease, parasites, or starvation, either due to lack of food or maybe they swallowed something that is preventing them from eating.