Mother‐young behaviour at Grey seal breeding beaches

A comparative study of mother‐young relations at Grey seal breeding beaches was made and results from two sites in Orkney are described to illustrate the different situations. It was found that at the minimally disturbed beach the cows consistently and exclusively suckled their own pups. To achieve this a bond is formed between the mother and pup immediately after parturition. The cow uses a combination of senses to locate and identify her pup; she recognises and responds to her pup's call, she returns to where she last suckled and she identifies the pup by smell. The pup remains on the beach where it was last suckled, it probably does not recognise its mother and does not discriminate between cows when soliciting suckling. These results are considered to be representative of completely undisturbed behaviour in the wild. At the other beach there were many examples of inconsistent suckling; these are described and attributed to disturbed conditions created by the method of study which led to a break‐down of the mother‐young bond between many of the seals present. The situation was accentuated by the topography of the beach and the density of seals present.