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| Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius, 1791) |
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 Grey Seal range (in blue)
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The Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus, meaning "hooked-nosed sea pig") is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. Johan Christian Fabricius ( January 7, 1745 - March 3, 1808) was a Danish Entomologist and economist It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising In Biological classification, family ( Latin The true seals or earless seals are one of the three main groups of Mammals within the seal Suborder, Pinnipedia. It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Its name is alternatively spelled Gray Seal and it is also known as Atlantic Grey Seal.
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Appearance
It is a medium sized seal, with the bulls reaching 2. 5–3. 3 m long and weighing up to 300 kg; the cows are much smaller, typically 1. 6–2. 0 m long and 100–150 kg weight. It is the typical seal of the northern and western coasts, the Common Seal being more often seen off southeastern coasts.
Ecology
In Great Britain and Ireland, the Grey Seal breeds in several colonies on and around the coasts; notably large colonies are at the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast (about 6,000 animals), North Rona off the north coast of Scotland, Lambay Island off the coast of Dublin and Ramsey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Farne Islands (also referred to less formally as the Farnes) are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. The Northumberland Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB covering 39 miles of coastline from Berwick-Upon-Tweed to the River Coquet Rona (or Rònaidh in Gaelic) is a remote Scottish Island in the North Atlantic. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Lambay Island ( lies off the coast of north County Dublin, Ireland, north of Ireland's Eye. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ramsey Island ( Welsh: Ynys Dewi) is an Island about 1 km off the coast of the St David's Peninsula in Pembrokeshire Geography Pembrokeshire is a maritime County, bordered by the sea on three sides by Ceredigion (Cardiganshire to the northeast and by
In the Western North Atlantic, the Grey Seal is typically found in large numbers all along the coast of North America up to about the coastal waters of New Jersey in the United States. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In Canada, it is typically seen in areas such as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland and the Maritimes, and Quebec. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Gulf of Saint Lawrence (French golfe du Saint-Laurent) the world's largest Estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Newfoundland — ˈn(jufənˌlænd (Terre-Neuve Talamh an Éisc — is a large island 15 km off the east coast of Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk In the United States onit is found year round off the New England coasts (in particular Maine and Massachusetts) and slightly less frequently in the Middle Atlantic States, though its natural range extends to Virginia. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state During the winter months it can be seen hauled out on the rocks, islands, and shoals not far from shore, like great grey bananas in the sun, and occasionally coming ashore to rest. In the spring the recently weaned pups and yearlings occasionally strand on beaches after becoming "lost".
Diet
The Grey Seal feeds on a wide variety of fish, mostly benthic or demersal species, taken at depths down to 70m (230ft) or more. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a Body of water such as an Ocean or a Lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface sand eels (Ammodytes spp) are important in its diet in many localities. Sand eel or sandeel is the common name used for a considerable number of species of Fish. Cod and other gadids, flatfish, herring and skates are also important locally. Cod is the common name for the Genus Gadus of Fish, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name of a variety Gadidae is a family of marine fish included in the order Gadiformes. The flatfish are an order ( Pleuronectiformes) of Ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes Herring are small Oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea, the North Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family Rajidae in the superorder Batoidea of rays However, it is clear that the Grey Seal will eat whatever is available, including octopus and lobsters. The Clawed lobsters compose a family ( Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine Crustaceans Lobsters are economically important as The average daily food requirement is estimated to be 5kg (11lb), though the seal does not feed every day and it fasts during the breeding season.
Reproduction
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The pups are born in autumn (September to November) in the eastern Atlantic and in winter (January to February) in the west, with a dense, soft silky white fur; at first they are small and shrivelled-looking, but they rapidly fatten up to look like over-filled barrels, from the extremely fat-rich milk they receive from their mothers. Within a month or so, they shed the pup fur and grow the dense waterproof adult fur, and soon leave for the sea to learn to fish for themselves. In recent years, the number of Grey Seals has been on the rise in the west, and in Canada there have been calls for a seal cull, however this does not appear to be coming to fruition any time soon. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page
Status
In the United States Grey Seal numbers are increasing as well; it has been protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act for several years and it is still illegal to harm one. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 prohibits with certain exceptions the taking of Marine mammals in United States waters and by U Before the act there were only a few isolated colonies in Maine and nowhere else. The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Today it is seen increasingly near New York and New Jersey waters and it is very likely it will establish colonies further and further south provided the main Canadian pupping grounds are not molested. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is also not very likely a seal hunt shall be instituted any time soon in the U. S.
In the UK seals are protected under the Conservation of Seals Act 1970, however it does not apply to Northern Ireland. An Act to provide for the protection and conservation of seals in England and Wales and Scotland and in the adjacent territorial waters In the UK there have also been calls for a cull from some fishermen, claiming that stocks have declined due to the seals. A recent paper, however, from the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University clarifies that seals take less than 1% of the total stock biomass in the North Sea. The University of St Andrews is the oldest University in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between The real problem is over-fishing.
Subspecies
There are two recognized subspeices of this seal:[1]
- Halichoerus grypus grypus
- Halichoerus grypus macrorhynchus
References
- ^ a b Wozencraft, W. C. (16 November 2005). Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. in Wilson, D. E. , and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.
- ^ Seal Specialist Group (1996). Halichoerus grypus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
External links
- Grey Seals on pinnipeds. org : http://www.pinnipeds.org/species/grey.htm
- ARKive - images and movies of the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
- Grey Seal Conservation Society (GSCS) http://www.greyseal.net
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