Baby Seals Beach Along Ice-Free Gulf of St. Lawrence

Environment Canada says the sea-ice levels recorded in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this winter are about as low as any readings since the 1960s.

Unusually low ice coverage in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence is leaving mother seals with few places to deliver their pups, or to even feed them.

Wildlife officials say they are taking calls from coastal residents who wonder what to do with the orphaned pups they have found beached near their homes.

They’re advising everyone to leave the baby seals alone, since their weakened immune systems makes them vulnerable to human pathogens which the pups could pass on to other threatened marine mammals.

“They (humans) react as if they have found a lost kitten or a lost puppy dog,” said Veronik de la Cheneliere, a spokeswoman for the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network.

But some are asking authorities that since they can’t rescue the seal pups, can they kill them and keep the fur.

Canada’s annual and controversial seal hunt could also be impacted this season due to the lack of sea ice.