Pup, pup and away... baby seals swim

The National Trust said a baby seal which had been marked with a coloured dye on November 30 was found in the Netherlands on December 13, making the pup just 14 or 15 days old when it was discovered hundreds of miles from home.

David Steel, head warden on the Farne Islands which are managed by the National Trust, said: "It was far too young to be swimming in the North Sea. Staggeringly, it made this 350-mile crossing to the Netherlands. It's an incredible journey."

Two more pups were found in early January and all three are now being cared for in a seal rescue centre in Holland. They will be released into the wild once they have put on enough weight.

Although grey seal pups can swim at an early age, they do not usually leave the breeding colony until they have weaned and moulted their white coats at around three and a half weeks old.

Around half of the pups born to the 3,800-strong colony of seals on the Farnes each year die from drowning, and Mr Steel believes the stormy weather in late November and early December would have swept these youngsters far out to sea.

Wardens on the Farne Islands mark pups with dyes, using a different colour for each count and two of the seals had a blue dye putting their birth date around November 30 and the third had a yellow dye, showing it was born in mid-November.