IR Allows British Marine Biologists to Protect Vulnerable Seal Pups:

The Skomer Marine Nature Reserve’s location on cusp of the Gulf Steam makes its temperate waters home to a wide variety of British marine wild life. Some of its most important inhabitants are the Atlantic grey seals which return to the Reserve’s cliffs each year to have their young. Conservation officers spend the summer monitoring the health of individual seal pups and gathering information about the seal population.
Observing the seals’ health and evaluating the pups is a dangerous task. The waves in the Reserve regularly reach heights of twenty feet, and protective seals can weigh in excess of 600 pounds. Because the ocean environment is so hostile, the seals are naturally aggressive and work to conceal themselves. Thermal imaging allows the marine conservation officers to protect themselves when entering dark caves and detect carefully camouflaged seals on the Reserve’s beaches and cliffs.
IR imaging cannot replace the manual observation techniques that the conservation officers use on a daily basis. But its ability to track hidden seal pups or detect a sleeping seal in a dark cave before entering it aid in conservation efforts. An Infracam can also help keep the officers safe from the wild animals they are protecting, making it an invaluable tool for any wildlife conservationist.

Courtesy of Andy Whitcher, Tecpinions Ltd., in Inframation Proceedings 2006