Where the Seals Sing

by Susan Richardson

Overview

There are fewer grey seals in the world than endangered African elephants, but the British Isles host almost half of this global population. Every year these charismatic animals, with their expressive eyes and whiskers more sensitive than our fingertips, haul out on our shores to breed and raise their pups.

As graceful in the sea as they might seem clumsy on land, grey seals have visited our shores and enriched our culture for centuries. Yet we still know relatively little about these captivating animals. As Susan Richardson journeys to the crags and crevices of the coast, she explores the mysteries and mythologies of seals, learning not just how they live but also how we ought to live with them.
PRAISE FOR SUSAN RICHARDSON
‘Cut and precise, archaic and innovative, transcendent and in-the-moment, [Richardson] sees the life of the sea as a mirror of ourselves, and vice versa: always changing, always the same … Vital, glorious and salutary’
PHILIP HOARE, AUTHOR OF LEVIATHAN
‘[Richardson] writes in prehensile language, capable of grasping something vast, ancient, chthonic: the Earth in must’
JAY GRIFFITHS, AUTHOR OF WILD
‘Richardson beautifully marries the landscape of the polar regions with their – and her own – emotional topography’
SARA WHEELER
Susan Richardson has always been entranced by seals; they seem to have surfaced at key junctions throughout her life, comforting her as an anxious child, bringing joy as she began to spread her wings as a writer and helping her to find her way after the loss of her mother. Now she sets out to trace the rhythm of their lives, travelling the coasts clockwise from Cornwall to Norfolk, in line with the autumn pupping season. Along the way she explores the myths surrounding seals, from their shapeshifting selkie skins to the claims that they decimate fish populations, and she discovers that the greatest dangers they face come from co-existing with us.
Brimming with vivid descriptions of the natural world, Where the Seals Sing is a lyrical tale of memory, rescue and rehabilitation. While loss, both personal and ecological, is a recurring theme, the human–seal connection that flows through the story is stirring and uplifting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780008404543
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/11/2022
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.44(h) x 1.38(d)

About the Author

At the age of six, when asked the usual question about what she wanted to be when she grew up, Susan Richardson replied, ‘I want to travel round the world and write about animals.’ She is the author of four collections of poetry, the most recent of which, Words the Turtle Taught Me, themed around endangered ocean species, emerged from her residency with the Marine Conservation Society and was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award. In addition to her ongoing writing residency with the British Animal Studies Network, facilitated by the University of Strathclyde, she has shared her work on BBC Two and Radio 3, and enjoyed a four-year stint as one of the poet-performers on Radio 4’s Saturday Live.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Suckle 1

1 Hook-nosed Sea Pig 7

2 Sanctuary 19

3 Seal HQ 30

4 Dye Hard 49

5 ExtractCompare 63

6 Fleeing Ophelia 77

7 The Red Wilderness 91

8 The Dawn Song of Middle Eye 104

9 Action Man 119

10 Learning to Speak Seal 132

11 Selkie 149

12 Skins of Silver, Chains of Gold 168

13 The Scramble for Salmon 180

14 Stampede 196

15 Deconstructing Blubber 209

16 The Hubris of Scuba 227

17 Industrial Strength 241

18 Elders and Betters 253

19 Sonic Boom 267

20 The Count 284

21 Birth and Rescue 297

22 Hauling Out 312

23 Moult 328

Epilogue: Adult Returners 340

Notes 345

Bibliography 353

Acknowledgements 366

Index 369

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Susan Richardson

'Cut and precise, archaic and innovative, transcendent and in-the-moment, [Susan Richardson] sees the life of the sea as a mirror of ourselves, and vice versa: always changing, always the same … Vital, glorious and salutary ' Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan

‘[Richardson] writes in prehensile language, capable of grasping something vast, ancient, chthonic: the Earth in must. Jay Griffiths, author of Wild

‘[Richardson] shows how art and writing can furnish both beautiful and challenging reflections on our relationship with animals … Precise and playful; rhapsodic and rebellious’ Andy Brown

‘Sparkling’ Margaret Elphinstone

‘Richardson’s voice swoops – passionate, ribald, funny, fierce – taking you up, on exhilarating flight, out from the cage of the everyday mind.’ Eleanor O’Hanlon, author of Eyes of the Wild

‘[Richardson] balances observation with “unseeing”, science with shamanism and myth’ Chris Kinsey

‘Susan Richardson beautifully marries the landscape of the polar regions with their – and her own – emotional topography.’ Sara Wheeler

From the Publisher