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Gray Seals


Appearance


Gray Seals belong to the seal family and are one of the rarest type of seal found in the world today. Gray Seals have small front flippers and large trailing hind flippers which aid in swimming, but are useless for movement on land. Gray Seals inch along similar to the way a caterpillar would move.

They have a flattened head with small internal ears, but unlike sea lions, their ears have no external flaps. Instead they have ear holes located on the sides of their head.

Gray Seals can grow as long as 3 m (10 feet and weigh up to 400 kg (875 lbs). The average life expectancy of Gray Seals is 31 years for males and 46 years for females.

Habitat


Most Gray Seals are found in colder climates. They can be found in the British Isles, Baltic Sea, Iceland and the eastern coasts of Canada and the United States.

Diet


Gray seals consume fish and invertebrates as available. The most common food items in eastern Canada are herring, cod, flounder, skate squid and mackerel.

Reproduction and Offspring


In eastern Canada pups are born in January or February on rock or sandy islands or on land-fast ice. Pups weigh on average 16 kg (36 lbs) and measure 91 cm (3 feet). They are born with a long creamy, white coat of fur. Pups stay ashore to nurse for 2 to 3 weeks and may gain as much as 1.8 to 2.3 kg (4-5 lbs) each day from its mother's high-fat milk thus quickly acquiring a vital layer of insulating blubber. After 2-3 weeks its white coat is shed and a coat similar to the adult coat is developed. Once weaned, pups remain ashore for several more days until molting is completed.

Adults mate around the time of weaning. Where mating occurs on rocky beaches, males will compete for females and bulls may be able to monopolize 4-6 cows a piece. However, where mating occurs on sand or ice cows are more spread out and each bull mates with only one cow.



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