Life and death on the beach

Horsey Gap, Norfolk Close to us is one of the very last newborns, eyes without focus, white fur still slick and wet

Scaling the dune, we are smacked in the face by the wind, but we recover, and smile because we are not too late. They are still here. The beach below is busy with grey seals, and my quick count reveals about 30 from our vantage point.

Here, as every year, the cows come ashore to pup on the sandy beach between November and early February. Close to us is one of the very last newborns; eyes dark liquid and without focus, white fur still slick and wet, a shock of blood on its back. The placenta lies on the sand like an inert purple jellyfish. The mother sniffs at her pup casually, raising that Roman nose which earned the species its scientific name, Halichoerus grypus, based on the Greek for "hooked-nose sea-pig".

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