Our two species of seal can often be difficult to tell apart when they are in water and you can only briefly glimpse a head bobbing up and down. However, there are some things to look out for:

• Grey seals have an elongated muzzle and parallel nostrils.
• Common Seals have a shorter muzzle and V-shaped nostrils.

You can just make out the V-shaped nostrils on this photograph.

When they are hauled out things are a bit easier. The common seal is up to 1.7 metres long while a male grey seal can grow to 2.5 metres. In both cases the female is smaller and neater. Common seals tend to be more spread out than greys when hauled out and, if you are lucky, one way to tell them apart is that common seals often adopt a characteristic ‘head-up, tail-up' posture on land.In both species their colour changes depending on how wet they are and cannot be a guide to identification. Spots on common seals do tend to be smaller and more numerous but this is only useful if you have both species together.

Common seal pups are born in intertidal areas or at sea. They are born in June/ July and can swim and dive from birth. They are born with their adult coat. A mother may play with her pup or even carry it on her back.

Grey seal pups are born on land in October / December and have white fur and do not like to enter the water until they have moulted into their adult coats, when they are weaned.

Grey Seal with Pup

Pups of both species are fed for up to four weeks, during which time they can more than double their weight. Their mothers then abandon them.

Seals mate shortly after giving birth. The fertilised egg is not implanted for two to three months. Common seals usually mate in the water. Grey seal bulls gather harems and can be very aggressive. Common seals are sometimes known as Harbour seals.

Bull grey seal