Hundreds of spotted seals, including newborn cubs, were seen playing, resting and sunbathing on the tidal flats at the Liaohe Estuary Nature Reserve in Panjin City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Under the first-class national protection in China, spotted seals are dubbed "the elves of the Bohai Sea" and are the only pinnipeds that can breed in the waters of China.

At the end of October every year, a large number of spotted seals come to the waters in northeast China. In May, after replenishing the nutrition they need, the spotted seals embark on a long journey back to the Pacific Ocean. Every year, the spotted seals migrate along a fixed route.

(Cover image via video screenshot and VCG)

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