Nordic issue 2020: The Seal Pup
The seal pup comes into the world covered in a white fluffy fur. With its big wide-open eyes, the seal pup looks adorable and one’s heart fills with tenderness at the sight of this big-eyed, round and fluffy-furred creature. We simply want to take it in our arms and give it a hug.
Throughout times, the seal pup has given rise to thousands of children’s toys. For many children the pup becomes their favourite pet, and when it is time for bed the kids hug their soft diminutive teddy seals. Adult hearts also tend to melt at the sight of young children caressing the big-eyed white and furry plaything.
Once again, Astrid Andreasen has worked long and hard with her crayons. Her fertile imagination and nimble hands have yet again created a masterpiece. In her illustration the seal pup looks alive and lovable. Astrid is a master of portraying a wide variety of natural subjects, especially those of the sea and the ocean floor. We can consider ourselves fortunate here in the Faroe Islands to have such a skilled and versatile artist.
Seals, also known as pinnipeds, are marine mammals. Pinnipeds are a widely distributed species in all the oceans of the world and can also be found in some major lakes and rivers. In Faroese, the female seal is called "opna" and the male seal "brimil" while the offspring is called "nósi". Over 30 species of seals are found worldwide. In Faroese waters we know of seven species, including the walrus (Odobenus Rosmarus). Gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) is the only mammal with flippers that breeds in the Faroe Islands. Up until the middle of the 19th century, the spotted seal (Phoca largha) also proliferated in the Faroe Islands.
In September - November the female and male seal make their way into rocky and sandy dens down by the shore, all of them facing the sea where mighty waves hit the rugged coast. In these dens, covered with sand, pebbles and rocks, the female seal gives birth to its young.
The seal is a semiaquatic animal, living both on land and in water. It is actually quite clumsy on land, but being an excellent swimmer it hunts with great skill and dexterity in water. The seal goes ashore to rest, shed its fur and mate. It can therefore easily be compared to terrestrial animals since it makes frequent use of its senses of smell and touch - just like other land-based animals.
At birth the baby seal weighs approx. 15 kg. It is born with a thick white coat of fur which protects it from the cold and is shed after a few months. If the baby seal falls into the sea, it can drown because the thick fur absorbs water easily and can become too heavy. It can also die of exposure if the water reaches the skin. From September to November the weather can be cold and windy, causing the death of many a seal pup.
Seal pups suckle for about two weeks. The milk is very nutritious , consisting of approx. 60% fat, so the seal pup grows fast and the layer of blubber thickens quickly, providing better insulation against cold temperatures. After three weeks, the pup already weighs about 50 kg. It now begins to shed the fur and has to find its own food.
During the period from September to November, adult seals enter the dens again to mate and they can also be seen mating on the rocky coast. The female seals are about 5-7 years old when they are sexually mature, while the males are about 7 - 9 years old when they reach maturity. Fish is at the top of the seals’ bill of fare, but they also feed on crabs and squid. It is even said that they have been sighted catching birds.
From the time of settlement to the mid-19th century, regular seal hunting was conducted in the Faroe Islands and remained of great importance to the daily lives of the Faroese. Seal hunting started at Michaelmas, which falls on September 29. The hunters launched their boats and headed to the pupping colonies. The men used oil lamps for light and wooden clubs to kill the seal. The meat was used for consumption, the blubber was melted down for oil, and the skin was dried or tanned and used for shoes, bags and other products.
The legend of the seal woman who came ashore in the village of Mikladalur in the Faroe Islands has become known all over the world. In 2007, Posta issued a mini-sheet featuring episodes from this legend. The ten illustrations were designed by the Faroese artist Edward Fuglø.
Over the last five years tourists have flocked to the Faroes from far and wide, sailing across the fjord to Kalsoy to visit the village of Mikladalur in order to see with their own eyes the beautiful statue of the seal woman, standing on a rocky knoll, called Stórikneysi, down by the beach at Mikladalur. The statue is huge, 2.6 meters in height and weighing almost half a ton. It is located in magnificent natural scenery, typical of the Faroe Islands. The sculpture was made by the renowned sculptor Hans Pauli Olsen and is designed to withstand the fierce storms and mighty waves of the Atlantic, both in summer and winter.
Most people know the story of the seal pups, which in this legend received deadly blows from human hands.
Seal-legends exists in all parts of the world, in Greenland, the Shetland Islands, Ireland and Australia. The Greenlandic legend "Mother of the Sea" is one of compassion and teaches a moral lesson: Nature must be preserved and protected.
Quote from "Mother of the Sea":
“The Mother of the Sea was distressed by the Inuits’ evil deeds in the settlement and to punish them she gathered together in her fiery hair at the bottom of the sea all the animals the Inuits used to hunt. When “The Blind One” came down to remedy the situation, he combed her hair, gathered the dirt in a heap and then threw it away.
At that same moment everything came alive, and there were bear, fox, hooded seal, bearded seal, ringed seal, harp seal, common seal, walrus, narwhal and all manner of birds.”
We now have this adorable, big-eyed and furry animal on a Faroese stamp. The seal pup now embarks on a round-the-world trip together with all the other fine Faroese stamps.
Have a good journey 😊.
Mourits Mohr Joensen
