“The gray seal lives in North Atlantic waters and is divided into three distinct stocks—the North Atlantic stock, the Baltic Sea stock and the eastern North Atlantic stock. In these waters, gray seals experience cold temperatures and sub-arctic environments. Males will come ashore, including onto ice, to mate, often competing with each other for access to females. Females remain on land at pupping sites called rookeries to nurse newborn pups. These pups, which are born with stark white fur, look unrecognizable next to the parents but will quickly shed this fur for the mottled brown and silver fur that adults have. From birth to three weeks old, a gray seal pup may gain up to three pounds a day feeding on the mother’s nutrient-rich milk. A pup can survive off blubber reserves for several weeks as it waits to shed its lighter fur before going to sea and dispersing across large areas. Male gray seals can reach 10 feet long and more than 850 pounds, while females are slightly smaller at 7.5 feet long and 550 pounds. When not on land, adult gray seals visit the water to hunt for food, like fish, crustaceans, squid and octopus, gobbling up between four to six percent of their body weight every day. A gray seal can dive to depths of up to 230 feet on average to swallow fish and other creatures, or to bring larger food to the surface to break up in pieces for eating. A gray seal can hold its breath for more than an hour at a time. Groups of gray seals will sometimes engage in ‘social feeding,’ in which several individuals work together to better prevent prey from swimming away. Gray seals can fall prey to killer whales and sharks as they rest on the water’s surface, keeping their head and neck above the water to breathe.” - Oceana #greyseals #seals #seal #atlanticseals #marinelife #saveourmarinelife #saveouroceans #capecod #chatham #chathamseals (at Chatham Fish Pier)
