September 7, 2001

Seal sounds

Nunatsiaq News

IQALUIT — Two days after being born, a seal pup can locate its mother simply by listening for her voice.

According to a recent CBC report, French researchers made the discovery while studying seals on Amsterdam Island near Antarctica.

Seal pups have such astute hearing because they must identify their mothers in large colonies, whose numbers are often in the hundreds.

Days after giving birth, mother seals usually leave their pups alone while they go off fishing. But the researchers found that mother seals won't leave until they're certain their pups know the sound of their voice. Upon returning from a hunt it takes between seven to 12 minutes for a mother seal to reunite with her pup.

The CBC report states: " For animals living in colonies, the ability of pups to recognize their mother's voice is crucial… losing mom could lead to starvation."