HUNDREDS of seal pups have been killed at a Scots nature reserve during Storm Arwen.
Reserve operators, the National Trust for Scotland, said it had never seen damage of such scale before, and the area remains without power.
They announced that a total of 224 dead seal pups were discovered in the water at Pettico Wick, with more washing ashore.
The reserve is planning to do another survey this week to check on the other colonies, but admitted it "doesn't look good".
A statement published on their Facebook page reads: "Having worked on seal colonies for ten years I’ve never seen a storm cause damage on anything like this scale before.
"This is a risk Grey Seals take with their breeding strategy, pupping at this time of year when storms are most frequent. But for this kind of phenomenal storm to hit at the peak of pupping is exceptional.
"On the reserve itself, there are lots of trees down at the Loch so please avoid the wooded side of the Loch and bear with us while we undertake what promises to be a long clean-up operation."
Last year, the reserve saw a record number of more than 1800 pups recorded.
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