Ecomare Seal Sanctuary Webcam, Texel

Seals, the aquatic mammal not the highly trained Naval special operations unit members, are renowned for their undeniable cuteness which is mainly created by their expressive, doleful eyes. Those sad eyes are a little deceitful though as seals are swift swimming carnivores that will, if they can catch one, snack on a penguin or two, catch crabs or feast on fish.

While they may look like innocent and friendly blobs of blubber floundering on the rocks or flopping along the beach, in the water they are born hunters. But like the creatures they hunt, they are also prey to larger marine mammals especially when they’re young and the same as any other creature, including humans, are prone to infections that need treatment if they’re going to have a chance to survive. The seals residing around the coastline of Texel, an island in the Netherlands, that get injured or sick are likely to find themselves taking a stay-cation at the Ecomare Seal Sanctuary. 

The Ecomare Seal Sanctuary has been caring for seals that have been injured or have life-threatening infections since the early 1950s. Since those early days, and because of the initial efforts of the centre’s founders, knowledge of how to care for hurt or abandoned seals has developed and hundreds of seals have been treated and returned to the wild. On this live feed, you can watch the next batch of sanctuary inmates as they recuperate from what ails them and get ready to return to the Wadden Sea where they belong.