Grey Seal Pups

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Here in the UK we're privileged to have more than half of the worlds Grey seal population around our coastline, and between September and November the females come ashore to give birth to their pups.

The strange thing about Grey seal pups is their colour.  Most young mammals have fur colour that blends in with their background.  This helps to keep them hidden from predators.  With Grey seals it appears that the opposite is true.  They're covered in bright white fur.  Why?

These white fur coats show that Grey seals evolved thousands of years ago at a time when the UK was covered with ice and snow.  The white fur is a throwback to our last ice age when white pups would have been well camouflaged in a snow covered landscape.  Nowadays this white fur makes the pups too conspicuous, which is why they begin to moult and darken within just a few days of birth.

Best Places to Watch Seals in the UK

• Blakeney Point, Norfolk
• The Farne Islands
• The Isles of Scilly
• Skomer Island
• Cardigan Bay
• The Hebrides
• Strangford Lough

More info at: Grey Seals Fact File