To the untrained eye, a grey seal and a common seal may look the same, yet there are key differences. Grey seals are huge. Males can weigh up to 300kg and grow to 2.5 metres long, whereas common seals are almost a third of the size. Grey seal pups are distinctly covered in white fur. Common seal pups, on the other hand, are born with a brown, waterproof coat, making them … [Read more...] about New threats facing Ireland’s seals
seals
New Citizen Science Project needs your Seal Sightings!
A new research project at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is looking for public input to analyse seal populations around the Irish coast.The project is being undertaken by German native Kristina Steinmetz, a graduate of the Biodiversity and Conservation MSc. programme at GMIT, as part of … [Read more...] about New Citizen Science Project needs your Seal Sightings!
Decapitated seals found at Kerry Seal Sanctuary
Two decapitated seal heads were found pinned to boards on the premises of the Dingle Seal Sanctuary in Co. Kerry this morning. Volunteers at the Sanctuary made the gruesome discover shortly after 9am this morning. The young seals’ decapitated heads had been mounted on boards and fixed to the sanctuary’s signage. Letters RIP and CULL were emblazoned across the boards in red … [Read more...] about Decapitated seals found at Kerry Seal Sanctuary
Seal Entourage
An account of a memorable encounter with grey seals off the West Cork coast in Summer 2010.--We call them natural disasters: events like earthquakes, tsunamis, eruptions, hurricanes... nature’s raw power at its most awe inspiring and terrifying.Luckily few of us ever experience the full destructive power of nature first hand, but we can all feel its presence. It’s … [Read more...] about Seal Entourage
Seals sense prey size using whiskers
Scientists have discovered that common seals (Phoca vitulina), also known as harbour seals, can detect the size of prey animals using just their whiskers. According to Dr Wolf Hanke and scientists from the Marine Science Centre at the University of Rostock in Germany seals are able to discern an object’s size and shape by sensing the disturbance trail it leaves in the water … [Read more...] about Seals sense prey size using whiskers
