Grey Seal Pup Portrait

Portrait of a grey seal pup (Halichoerus grypus) relaxing in the afternoon sun, photographed at Donna Nook on the Lincolnshire coast. Despite their round blubbery bodies seals can move with surprising speed when they want to, using their powerful flippers. The flippers are made up of long bones covered in very thick skin which forms a web, used like a paddle to propel the seal along. The long sharp claws on their front flippers are used to help them move around on land, providing very effective grip.

Grey Seal Pup – About Grey Seals:

For much of the year grey seals are out at sea or hauled out on far away sandbanks, but from October to December the seals come ashore to give birth to their pups on the sand dunes of Donna Nook. Donna Nook is home to one the largest and most accessible grey seal colonies in the UK. There are about 3,000 Grey Seals along the coastline, and 900+ pups are born each year. The area is actually owned by the MOD (Ministry of Defence) as a bombing range, but surprisingly the seals seem relatively undisturbed by the military activity and return here year after year.