Norfolks Grey Seals!
Living along the Norfolk coast, I am blessed to see grey seals most days when I am walking on the beach with Ziggy, my Dalmatian. I often see them swimming parallel to the beach and keeping an eye on Ziggy and I, as they are very curious creatures! One particular day I had eleven seals following me on my walk!
There are two main seal colonies in Norfolk, one at Blakeney Point, on the National Trust reserve and the other at Horsey Beach, where the seals come ashore to give birth, breed and moult.
The Horsey Beach colony is closest to me and because of the large number of seals in the colony, in the pupping season they can be found as far north as Waxham beach and as far south as Winterton beach, where I live.
The grey seal is the most common of the two British seal species. The common or harbour seal is the other species found in the UK.
The grey seal males are much heavier than the females and can measure unto 300cms long and weigh up to 400kgs. The females are up to 230cms long and can weigh between 100 and 260kgs.
Grey seals have a wide range of colours, from grey to fawn and the females often have light or dark speckles! The males tend to be much darker and have less speckles!
The females start to come ashore towards the end of October in preparation for the pupping season. Grey seal pups are mainly born between early November till the end of January.
When the grey seal pups are born they have white fur, which is not waterproof. The female will stay with her pup on the beach, for about three weeks to feed it on her very nutritious milk, which is about 60% fat. During this time, the pup will grow quickly, gaining about 2kgs per day.
The female will then leave the pup on the beach and head back to sea. Over the next three to four weeks the pup will gradually lose it’s white fur and gain its juvenile waterproof coat. Once this has happened, it too will go out to sea to hunt.
Life for grey seal pups is hard and up to 50% of pups will die in their first year.
The female will mate shortly after the birth of her pup, but the fertilised egg does not start to develop till much later, allowing the pup to be born at the same time the following year. This is known as ‘embryonic diapause’.
During the pupping season, it is very important that the seals are not disturbed, so if you are visiting Blakeney Point or Horsey Beach, please stay well clear of the seals.
Females are very protective of their young, but if they are disturbed, they may abandon the pup, which often leads to the death of the pup.
The males are also very aggressive at this time as they are trying to mate with as many females as possible. The males can move very quickly, so please keep away from them and don’t put yourself or them at risk.
The Friends of Horsey Seals have wardens on duty during the pupping season on Horsey and Winterton beaches, to advise visitors of where the best places to safely view the seals are and to answer your questions. Please also keep dogs on leads and away from the seals.
It is an amazing sight to see 2000+ grey seals and their pups on our beaches during the winter and one I never tire of seeing! So if you come to visit them, stay safe and enjoy!