After looking at this adorable gray seal pup you may be surprised to learn that its Latin name translates to hooked-nose sea pig (or piglet, in this pup"s case). Over 110,000 gray seals, more than 35% of the world"s population, make their home in and around the coastal waters of the British Isles. As autumn approaches, pupping season begins, and fuzzy pups—like the one photographed here—can be spotted on the coasts and beaches of the eastern Atlantic. About a month after the seal pups are born, they"re abruptly weaned when their mothers return to the sea to hunt for food and find a new mate. The older pups then congregate for protection in groups called weaner pods. Within weeks they shed their thick pup fur and take to the sea to learn how to catch their own fish.
It s only Wednesday
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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					Mid-Autumn Festival
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					Christmas Bird Count
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					My my, it s Syttende Mai
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					World Penguin Day
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					Celebrating Pi Day
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					Cross this bridge if you dare
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					Feel the spray in Monterey
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					It s a ruff life
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					Valentines Day
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					Step into the dark
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					’Chess on ice’
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					Prasat Phanom Rung temple ruins, Thailand
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					World Rhinoceros Day
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					Rooftops in the walled city of Urbino, Italy
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					National Trails Day
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					Mountain goats at Glacier National Park in Montana
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					Polar Bear Week
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					A unique perspective from Italy’s ‘golden sands’
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					Fall comes to Pando
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					Spring equinox
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					Illuminated Uluru
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					National Hispanic Heritage Month
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					Przewalskis horses, Hustai National Park, Mongolia
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					Christmas Tree Point Road and Twin Peaks, San Francisco
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					Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
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					We have liftoff!
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					FOR FOREST by Klaus Littmann
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					Frankenstein Friday
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					Manatee Awareness Month
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					Fall Astronomy Week
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