We also saw a pup drinking it's mother's milk
Pups are relatively helpless, and rely totally on their mother's milk for the first few weeks. The milk is more than 50 per cent fat, and the pups grow very quickly, depositing a thick layer of blubber that will protect them from the cold and sustain them as they are learning to hunt for themselves.
Grey seal mothers feed their pups with milk for 16 to 21 days, during which time the pup gains an average of 30 kg (66 lbs). During this period of intensive care, the mother might lose 65 kg (143 lbs) of her own body weight. When the female is forced to return to sea to feed, the pup might remain at the breeding ground for another 14 days or so before heading out to sea to forage for itself.
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