Rare black seal pups born at nature reserve

Stephanie Fama A black seal pup looking up into the camera. You can see one of its front flippersStephanie Fama
Angela Rees A black seal pup laying in grass and looking directly at the camera with its mouth open. It looks like it is smiling.Angela Rees

Visitors say they have seen at least two black seal pups at Donna Nook this year
About one in 400 grey seals are melanistic with velvety black coats

Rare black seal pups have been spotted and photographed by visitors at a Lincolnshire nature reserve.

The grey seal pups at Donna Nook are normally born white and shed their fur at about two to three weeks to expose a grey coat underneath.

However, about one in 400 grey seals reveal a velvety black coat instead and visitors in recent days have reported seeing at least two of these.

As of 20 December, the Donna Nook warden reported that 1,647 pups had been born so far this season.

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