About 800 seal pups were born in the south of Primorye

In the Far Eastern Marine Reserve (the Primorsky Territory), the number of seal pups born in 2021 was counted, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation.

For the first time, a drone was used to count animals, which allowed the scientists to get a much closer look at the seals and find more cubs without disturbing them. Before that, researchers had to go by boat to breeding grounds and count animals at a considerable distance from the coast.

This year the scientists have counted 815 cubs. Such data indicate an increase in the seal population, which is the only marine mammal breeding in the Far Eastern Marine Reserve.

The breeding season of animals runs from January to April.

Since 2019, the Far Eastern Marine Reserve has been managed by the Land of the Leopard Federal State Budgetary Institution.