In Ireland, we have two species of seal that live around our coastline – Grey and Common Seals. The Grey Seal is the larger of the two species, and you notice distinct differences between them both, including the hooked nose of the Grey Seal and their parallel nostrils which differ from the Common Seals v-shaped nostrils.  

Grey Seals feed on fish which they hunt out at sea. They usually return to land to rest and can often be seen ‘hauled out’, on rocky shores and beaches. Grey seals give birth to fluffy white pups in the autumn. Their pups stay on land until they have lost their white coats and increased their body weight. 

Grey seals like to roam around the North Atlantic during the year, travelling from one country to another, but returning to the same place each year to breed and give birth. Grey Seals have a longer pupping season in Ireland, with pups being born in August, despite normally having pups in the winter months between October and February. 

Grey seals are a Protected Species in Ireland Under the Irish Wildlife Act, 1976 and The EU’s Marine Mammal Protection Act, 1972. They almost went extinct in Ireland in the early 1900’s due to hunting, but these protections have allowed their numbers to start to recover.