Grey Seal – Halichoerus grypus Taxon: Pinnipedia General fact sheet (click to download) Habitat: Coastal & marshland Description: Grey seals have grey and brown fur, sometimes with a pattern of blotches; no ears visible; long muzzle; nostrils parallel; larger and darker than common seal, with flat or convex profile to its head (the common seal has a…
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Species – Common Seal
Common Seal – Phoca vitulina Taxon: Pinnipedia General fact sheet (click to download) Habitat: Coastal & marshland Description: Fine spot-patterned grey or brown fur; rounded head with no ears visible; ‘V’ shaped nostrils and long whiskers. Size: 140-185cm including flippers of about 20cm. Weight: 8-16kg at birth; up to 130kg in adults. Lifespan: Females can reach…
MAWse – Grey Seal
Grey Seal Taxon Group: Pinnipedia Species: Grey seal Scientific Name: Halichoerus grypus Description: Colour can vary drastically. Nostrils set apart and almost parallel in appearance. Large male adult grey seals can be up to 2.7m in length. Field Signs: Download a printable field sign guide here! Distribution: Around the coast of most of the British Isles. (Maps are based on…
MAWse – Common Seal
Common Seal Species: Common/Harbour seal Scientific Name: Phoca vitulina Description: Colour extremely variable. Rounded head, which is small in relation to body. V-shaped nostrils that almost meet at bottom. Head is more blunt and puppy-like than grey seal. Often adopts characteristic ‘head up, tail up’ position when hauled out. Large male adult common seals can be up to 1.8m…
MAWse – Seals
Seals Seals come under the order pinnipeds and are aquatic predators, exploiting marine resources in a variety of coastal habitats. Despite spending most of their life at sea, seals must return to land (or ice floes) to breed and sometimes between foraging trips to rest. Only two species, grey and common seals, breed around the…
‘Gold standard’ environment pledge tarnished by lack of environmental Budget measures
Press release issued by Wildlife and Countryside Link on Monday 29 October 2018 in response to the Budget. Responding to the Budget, 18 environmental groups are highlighting their disappointment with the limited new initiatives and lack of funding for nature announced today. This absence is at odds with the urgent need to tackle…
Taken a photo of one of Britain’s elusive mammals? Get in touch!
When you’re compiling publications about the country’s more elusive mammals photos can be very hard to come by. Even some of our more common mammals are sometimes overlooked by photographers. We would love to hear from you if you have taken a high res photograph of one the species listed below and would be prepared…
The Mammal Photographer of the Year 2018 – Winners Announced!
The Mammal Society’s Mammal photographer of the Year 2018 competition winners have been announced this week. Led by Mammal Society council member and editor of Mammal News, Hilary Conlan, the panel of three judges selected the winners from a huge number of entries from some of the UK’s most talented amateur wildlife photographers. This year…
