Laura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
Every winter, about 500,000 gray seals gather on a remote sandbar called Sable Island. Located 200 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, the seals gather here to rest, molt, give birth to their pups, and breed. While they don’t face many predators on the island, they do mingle with some wild horses that have roamed free on the island for years. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution marine biologist Michelle Shero and colleagues are currently spending several weeks studying these pinnipeds.
Michelle Shero/ ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Seals and horses co-exist on the shores of Sable Island. In the background is the old lightkeepers house that the research team lives in.