Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
This is the adorable baby seal that was snapped soaking up some rays while lounging on the beach like a movie star on an idyllic French island.
The shots were taken by a local Frenchwoman who goes by the artist name Luna Troizel who was sitting on a rock on a beach near her home on the island of Yeu in the Vendee department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west-central France when she saw the animal.
She was lucky enough to spot the seal and observed it from a distance for some 30 minutes, taking these amazing pictures of it as it lounged on the sand in the sunshine like a movie star on Saturday 8th February.
Luna who celebrated her 61st birthday today (THU) told Central European News (CEN): “I always walk with my Lumix camera in my pocket.”
Telling CEN about her life on the beautiful island of Yeu, she said: “I am just a pre-retired woman who is celebrating her 61st birthday today and who nature amazes every day.
“We have magnificent beaches which do not represent just the Vendee area, because we have a side of the island where the coast is rocky and makes one think of the Breton coasts.
“I dreamed of seeing a seal and even more a baby seal. While walking around last Saturday I saw some people looking at a beach and I saw that it was a seal. I rarely go anywhere without my little Lumix and there I was in heaven! Each year we have strandings of seals, dolphins… sometimes whales.”
Troizel says she was happy this time round to see one alive adding: “I was desperate to meet a living one for once, because we see many [dead ones] that are spat out by the sea.”
Troizel told local media: “It was there, lounging. It was like it was posing for the camera! The other people watching it were super respectful and contemplative, it was really a beautiful moment.”
The talented amateur photographer said: “Above all, they are in their element, and in these moments, we are the ones who are the guests.”
She added however that despite the beautiful moment there was need to be careful, saying”seals remain particularly dangerous, their teeth cut like razors!” That being said however, she said the seal acted as if it enjoyed the attention.
She also said in an apparent reference to storm Ciara: “I just hope that this beautiful animal will leave without too much concern, despite the storm and the raging sea that there has been… It is always a heartbreak to see these animals stranded on our shores.”
Asked by CEN if she thought her local beaches were threatened by climate change, she replied: “As far as fishing and climate change are concerned, I don’t know if this is the reason that pushes these animals to run aground. But one thing is certain, it is that the ocean is gaining ground and nibbling away at our sandy beaches.”
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