A hooded seal pup was born on the beach of Vlieland on Monday morning. It is the first time that such a seal has been born in Vlieland as this endangered species typically occur in the polar region, Omrop Fryslan reported.

After consultation with the seal center Pieterburen, the police and armed forces cordoned the area off to keep people out. They’re trying to leave the animals undisturbed during the nursing period, which lasts four days.

[NL] Gisteren deed zeehondenwachter Willem op het strand van Vlieland wel een heel bijzondere ontdekking: een klapmuts!…

Posted by Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen on Tuesday, March 28, 2023

According to Sophie Brasseur, a seal expert at Wageningen Marine Research, it is really rare to find a hooded seal in the Netherlands, and even more so for one to have a pup here. The animal can swim great distances, but they’re really an arctic species.

Hooded seals were somewhat more common in the Netherlands in the 1990s, when fish in the northern seas were in bad shape. In the past deceased, hooded seals have been spotted in the Netherlands three times.