Record grey seal numbers counted at Cumbria nature reserve through drone surveys

‘Exciting news’ as conservationists see five-fold increase in population over last decade

South Walney Nature Reserve has the only grey seal colony in Cumbria (Cumbria Wildlife Trust)

More than 500 grey seals have been recorded at a Cumbrian nature reserve for the first time, thanks to the use of drone technology to monitor the animals.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust said it had counted 518 seals at the South Walney Nature Reserve in Barrow between September 2020 and March this year.

The figure is a jump of 7.2 per cent on the results published in March 2019 (483 seals) and a 43.9 per cent increase on the figure from 2018 (360 seals).