³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

The first grey seal pups of the year are due any day now and luckily for us, Wales is one the best places in Europe to see them.

Female grey seals start congregating at special sites, called rookeries, to give birth at the end of summer and beginning of autumn and already the first few have made it ashore.

Richard Ellis of the National Trust said, "West Wales is home to 5,000 grey seals and their spread of pupping dates is wider than in any other breeding colony, although scientists are unsure why. Pups can be seen from September to December, with the most visible during October."

A grey seal pup by 'Top Sausage Lobber' on Flickr.

Despite their name, grey seal pups are born with a yellowish white coat and weigh 15 kilograms. During the two to three weeks they are suckled, the pups put on an incredible 1.4 kilograms in weight, every day.

To ensure visitors to the Pembrokeshire coast don't disturb the seals, the National Trust have issued a few guidelines to follow:

• Keep well away from baby seals if you spot one on a beach, and keep dogs on the lead at all times.

• Baby seals are sometimes left unattended while their mothers are away feeding. They will return, so don't assume a lone pup has been abandoned.

The also offer some good advice on seal pups.

Some grey seal facts:

• Grey seals are the largest breeding seals on our shores.

• Half the world's population of grey seals live in our waters.

• Seal milk is 60% fat so that the pup can put on as much blubber as quickly as possible.

• A grey seal bull can be twice the size of a cow, weighing in at as much as 300 kilograms and measuring up to 3.3 metres in length.

• Grey seals can dive to a depth of 70 metres to find food.

• Each seal needs around five kilograms of food a day and favourite foods include sand eels, herring, skate, cod and flatfish, but they will also eat lobster and octopus.

The National Trust are offering special guided walks along the to see the first seal pups on Friday, 26 August and Sunday, 4 September. For more information phone (01348) 837860 or visit the website .