Seals
In recent years seal watching has gained in popularity. Though the potential economic benefits of the development of such programmes are large, so are the possible impacts on the animals. Changes in seal behaviour have been observed to occur in the presence of tourists. A study carried out in 2001 in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay, showed that even tourists elicited a strong response from the animals when tourists crossed a 10m-threshold. A further study carried out in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, showed that maternal attendance and care of harp seals towards pups was significantly reduced when tourists were present. Moreover, pups spent less time resting and more time engaged in aberrant behaviours. When tourists approached fur seal pups to within 3 metres or touched them the animals displayed a freeze response.
Picture courtesy of Topham.
These observations were corroborated by a study carried out in New Zealand. An interesting result that emerged from the project was that controlled approaches indicated that fur seals respond more strongly to land-based approaches than sea-based approaches. The attitude of tourists also was an important factor: calm people caused almost no disturbance when approaching the colony. The study further showed that the response of seals to different types of approaches also varied by site, with a larger number of avoidance responses being displayed at the control site. This suggests that, in areas of high tourist activity, seals might habituate over time. However, overall, the implications of the described behavioural changes on survivorship and/or reproductive behaviour remain unclear.
As with whales, in order to minimise harmful impacts on seal populations and ensure sustainable and enjoyable opportunities for watching them in the wild a number of guidelines (code of conduct) should be followed: 1. When approaching colonies from the sea, they should be approached at no wake speed preferably from down wind and boats should remain at least 20 m from the colony. 2. In order to prevent any pacnic behaviour within the colony sudden engine or loud noise are to be prohibited. 3. Particular care is to be taken during the breeding season (November to January).