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About The Seals

Roughly half of the world’s population of grey seals live around the British coastline and their protection is of international conservation importance. They share our shores with another species the smaller, and some say prettier, common or harbour seal.  Grey seals are one of our largest mammals yet are very vulnerable to disturbance when they come ashore during the breeding season. 

Seal Facts The Annual Moult Seal FAQs

Photo by Sarah Jenner

Photo by Mike Burnell

Horsey & Winterton

Thousands haul out at Horsey and Winterton between November and late January to give birth and mate. That is when they are most exposed to humans, who travel from near and far to see them. Our wardens do what they do, simply because there is a need to protect the long-term future of the colony.  


Amazing Things You Might Not Know About Grey Seals

  • Grey seals are thought to be able to dive to depths of 300m and stay underwater for up to 20 minutes.
  • Grey seal milk contains up to 50-60 % fat, ten times more than a Jersey cow’s milk.  This helps the pups gain weight rapidly and develop a layer of blubber. Pups go from their birthweight of around 13kg to 45 kg in just three weeks.
  • Grey seals can end up in some odd places on their travels. In 2014 a seal was rescued from a farmer’s field more than 20 miles from the sea and a seal treated and tagged by the RSPCA at East Winch and subsequently turned up in Dunkirk.
  • Grey seals and other pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses) use highly sensitive whiskers known as mystacial vibrissae to detect fish-generated water movements when hunting in murky water with poor visibility or dark conditions. 
  • Adult grey seals typically have a wedge-shaped head and characteristically long nose with wide nostrils which run parallel and vertically down the nose. The species scientific name for grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) translating to ‘hooked-nosed pig of sea’.
  • Pups are born with a white coat known as a “lanugo”. They moult this after they are weaned, around 3 weeks after they are born. The process of growing a shorter adult waterproof coat takes another 3 weeks or so.
  • Approximately 40% of the world’s grey seals breed in the UK. In the winter of 2020/21 season 2,500 pups were born at Horsey and Winterton.
  • Grey seals typically return to breed and moult to one particular location and female grey seals often return to have their pups at the colony where they were born. 
  • Female grey seals only suckle pups for 17 to 23 days and then their job is done. She leaves never to return. Pups then stay behind on the beach alone for around another three weeks to moult their white coats and grow a grey waterproof one. They fast during this time living off their fat. 
  • When they are ready the pups go into the sea and teach themselves to fish.
  • Male Seals are called bulls, female Seals are cows and baby seals pups.
  • Bulls live for up to 25 years and reach sexual maturity at 6 years. Cows live for 35 years and start to breed at between 3 to 5 years.
  • Cow seals can weight up to 250 kg and bulls up to 350 kg.
  • Seals do not spend all of their time in the sea. They need to come ashore, or haul out to moult, rest and digest their food. They are warm blooded air breathing mammals.
  • Seals are highly intelligent and show that when escaping a predator or hunting for a meal.
  • Seals can sleep on or even underwater. They can float vertically in the sea, with just their heads poking out of the water to breathe. This is known as bottling. Others can slow their heartbeat down to conserve oxygen and roll around on the seabed enjoying forty winks for up to two hours.
  • Our seals are a protected species. It is estimated there is 640,000 tonnes of fishing litter and other rubbish currently polluting the world’s oceans. Sadly, our rescue team are catching more and more seals with fishing lines, ropes, nets or plastic objects stuck around their necks. The injuries they sustain can be horrific.
Photo by Viv Hodgson

The Annual Moult

Photo by Sara Jenner

Two or three months after breeding, grey seals start to come ashore again. This time for their annual moult to replace worn-out coats which are no longer fit for purpose.

They haul out along the shoreline to conserve heat, literally thousands of them in close groups, huddled together for safety and unlike the breeding season they are no longer territorial. The moult can take 6-8 weeks to complete. They often can be seen wriggling and scratching to try and shed their dead fur and relieve their itchy skin.

The new fur will not only keep them warm and dry in the water, but also help streamline them when chasing prey. By keeping a safe distance from seals, you allow them to rest peacefully, to conserve their energy and reduce their need for food at this time. Sadly, some humans think it’s OK to repeatedly chase huge numbers of them into the sea. If they are halfway through their moult they risk getting dangerously cold, so please don’t.

Find out more about how and why seals moult every year.

Download Document

The Most Frequently Asked Questions About Seals...

What is the difference between Harbour and Grey Seals?

Adult grey seals are normally bigger and have a more Roman nose and wedge-shaped head and nostrils that run parallel and vertical.  Harbour seals have heart-shaped nostrils joined at the bottom and a rounded curved head. They are also smaller than grey seals. 

How long do seals live?

Grey seal males live up to 25 years and females up to 35 years.

How long do grey seal pups stay on the beach?

A minimum of six weeks. Three weeks suckling and a further three weeks moulting their baby fur. 

Where do grey seals go for the rest of the year?

Some remain in the local area, but it appears that many do leave although we don’t know exactly where they go. They spend most of their time out at sea or near the coast, frequently hauling out on land to rest, groom and digest their food.  Occasionally seals tagged in Norfolk have ended up in on European beaches.  They can swim great distances.

How much weight do grey seal pups gain?

In ideal conditions around 2kg per day.

What do I do if I see a dead seal?

Nothing! They are left there to let nature take its course and become part of the food chain.

What do I do if I see a sick seal?

Outside of the pupping season, you should contact the RSPCA 0300 1234 999 and ask for advice or call us. If you spot a sick seal during pupping season at Horsey or Winterton, please tell any warden/s on site or call 07706 314514. 

How long is the grey seal pupping period?

At Horsey & Winterton it lasts from early November until late January/early February. 

What is the gestation period of grey seals?

11.5 months. The fertilised eggs do not implant immediately (held in stasis) but float around in the womb. Then between 3 and 4 months after mating these fertilised eggs will implant in all pregnant seals and start to grow. It is something of a mystery as to what triggers this. This means that the cows will all give birth together around the same time.  Isn’t nature wonderful?

At what age do grey seals start breeding?

Females become sexually mature at 3 – 5 years and males at around 6 years. 

What do grey seals eat?

Adult seals like sand eels, flatfish, octopus, cod, mackerel and herring and probably just about anything they can catch. Juveniles, who are teaching themselves to fish, start off with small fish, molluscs and crustaceans. 

What happens to sick, injured or abandoned seals?

Our trained rescuers will make an initial assessment and often consult the RSPCA about the best action to take. If a seal needs treatment, we will transport it to the RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre.  But sometimes it is better left undisturbed.

If I see a seal with something round its neck, what should I do?

Seals are frequently reported with netting/rope/plastic around their necks. Sometimes we can’t act immediately. If the seal is in a group of other seals, it is likely to head straight for the sea with the others as our rescuers approach.  We can’t catch a seal in water and obviously it does not appreciate we are there to help it.  If a so-called necklaced seal is on the beach among females nursing their pups, we would not normally attempt to rescue it because we risk frightening the nursing mums away from their pups, leading to possible mass abandonment and starvation. We don’t give up though, we will wait for the right occasion to rescue an injured seal.

More information about seals

Photographing-Seals

Viewing Seals

Please take notice of the following advice when viewing and photographing the seals.

Read More

Gallery

Read More

Seal Counts

You may wonder why we count our seals during the pupping season, how we go about it and why we bother to do it at all?

Read More

 

Emergency?

If you see any seals in difficulty, please contact the FoHS Rescue Team on 07706 314514
or the RSPCA on 0300 1234999.

Friends of Horsey Seals

Contact Us

7 Church Road
Repps with Bastwick
Norfolk
NR29 5JP

enquiries@friendsofhorseyseals.co.uk

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