'Our' Norfolk Seals

BEN GARROD, ambassador for Norfolk Wildlife Trust, on the sense of ownership we have of the animals which visit our beaches

I HAVE been lucky enough to have lived with wild chimpanzees in Uganda, followed walruses in Svalbard and surveyed humpback whales around Madagascar but there has always been a bit of an argument within the circles of biologists and conservationists. The argument arises when many of us refer to ‘our’ animals when we work with them. Many say that they are wild and nobody should lay claim to them but I’d argue the opposite.

By saying ‘my’ chimpanzees, I did see them as mine. And also belonging to Sippi, my senior field assistant; to Joy, the camp cook; to the researchers and tourists who visited and in fact, everyone everywhere. It’s my idea that by assuming a benign level of possession, we in fact increase a connection with the animals and from that, a sense of stewardship and ultimately, a vested care in what happens to an individual, community or species.

But it is not just those animals in frigid Arctic waters or humid tropical forests that could benefit from a better relationship with humankind. Us Norfolkers are lucky enough to live in a part of the UK rich in terms of habitats and ecosystems, with a multitude of interesting and iconic species, many of which sit very close to the precipice of extinction. Something I always appreciated growing up in Norfolk is that close relationship with the surrounding environment we seem to inherently possess in our wild, wind-stricken, coastal county.

I remember the first time I saw a seal. I was on a beach on a walk in the tail end of winter. I delightedly watched as it splashed and dipped beneath the waters. Since that day some 30 years ago, I have watched this little stretch of coast around Horsey grow to become one of the largest and most important seal breeding colonies in the UK.