Pupping season is underway for grey seals at Orford Ness in Suffolk and numbers are expected to grow from last year’s 228 pups.

The first 200 adult seals arrived at Orford Ness 2021, becoming Suffolk’s first breeding colony.

A cow and her pup laying on the shingle at Orford Ness in Suffolk. (Image: Hanne Siebers / National Trust Images)

The site is closed to visitors during the winter, which helps to minimise disturbance, while National Trust rangers will carry out regular counts from a safe distance.

A spokesman for the trust said: “To minimise disturbance, we are asking people not to try to access Orford Ness out of season and to avoid using drones and other aerial equipment in the area.

Numbers of pups at Orford Ness are expected to increase again this year. (Image: Hanne SiebersHanne Siebers / National Trust Images)

“Access by foot, boat or drone is unauthorised, illegal and dangerous due to the remote and former military nature of the site. 

“Our ranger team will be carrying out regular patrols and population counts to check the size and health of the colony.

“We don’t allow anyone to get close to the colony, for both the animals’ safety and ours, as wildlife disturbance remains the biggest threat to the species on UK shores.

Pupping season has begun at Orford Ness in Suffolk, home to what is believed to be Suffolk’s first colony of grey seals. (Image: Hanne Siebers / National Trust Images)

“Instead, we’ll be sharing photos and videos, all taken from a safe distance, so that you can stay updated from the comfort of your own home.”

In the wild, female grey seals, known as cows, can live for 30 to 35 years, whilst males live for about 20-25 years.  

A grey seal on the foreshore at Orford Ness, where a colony has been developing since 2021. (Image: Hanne Siebers / National Trust Images)

They have their first pups between the ages of three and five and usually return to the same place each year – meaning some of the adults having pups this year would have been born at Orford Ness in 2021.

A grey seal pup that’s started to moult at Orford Ness, shedding its white coat. (Image: Hanne Siebers / National Trust Images)

Global numbers of grey seals are estimated to be around 300,000, with British and Irish waters supporting around 40 per cent of the world’s grey seal population.