"Cornish Seal Sanctuary The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a sanctuary for injured seal pups, and is owned by The SEA LIFE Trust (Parent Company: Merlin Entertainments). The centre is on the banks of the Helford River in Cornwall, England, UK, next to the village of Gweek. The origins of the seal sanctuary go back to 1958 when the founder, Ken Jones, discovered a baby seal washed up on the beach near his home at St Agnes. This was the first of many rescues. By 1975, the work had outgrown the single pool at St Agnes and a new site was"
"have become iconic symbols for conservation, animal welfare, and animal rights advocates. In 2009, Russia banned the hunting of harp seals less than one year old. The term seal is used to refer to a diverse group of animals. In science, they are grouped together in the Pinnipeds, which also includes the walrus, not popularly thought of as a seal, and not considered here. The two main families of seals are the Otariidae (the eared seals; includes sea lions, and fur seals), and Phocidae (the earless seals); animals in the family Phocidae are sometimes referred to as hair seals, and"
"40 to 70%, but are currently at an all-time low of 30%. In late January to early February, female seals give birth to one pup each. Similar to other ringed seals, these pups are born with white pelages and weigh about 5 kg. Their white coats are molted at around three weeks to a month. Male pups become sexually mature after six to seven years, whereas female pups sexually mature after five to seven years. Newborn pups are not fully grown until 8 to 10 years after they are born. Breeding begins a few weeks after the birth of last"
"Whitecoat A whitecoat is a newborn harp or grey seal with soft, white fur. Newborn seals have yellow fur because of amniotic fluid, and are still wet. When the pup dries, it is called a yellowcoat. The amniotic stain fades and the fur turns white within a few days, and it gets the name whitecoat. First it's called a ""thin whitecoat"", and when it becomes visibly fatter it is a ""fat whitecoat"". Nursing lasts for about 12 days. Cows frequently return to their pups to suckle. While she is suckling, the mother does not eat—rather, she draws on her reserves"
"at around four weeks of age, the seal is called a ""beater"". Ragged-jacket A ragged-jacket (or, occasionally, ""raggedy-jacket"") is the name given to a harp or grey seal pup when it is undergoing its first moult, and the intermediate stage between a ""whitecoat"" and a ""beater"". The moulting begins when the pup is at an age of about 12–14 days, at which time they cease nursing. At this young age, the pups are not yet capable of swimming. The pup stays on the ice for about two weeks before the fur has moulted. It does not feed during this time"
"Hooded seal The hooded seal (""Cystophora cristata"") is a large phocid found only in the central and western North Atlantic, ranging from Svalbard in the east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the west. The seals are typically silver-grey or white in colour, with black spots that vary in size covering most of the body. Hooded seal pups are known as ""blue-backs"" because their coats are blue-grey on the back with whitish bellies, though this coat is shed after 14 months of age when the pups molt. The generic name ""Cystophora"" means ""bladder-bearer"" in Greek, from the species' unusual"
"gets its vernacular name. Depending on subspecies and condition, adult size can range from and weigh from . The seal averages about long with a weight of about . This species is usually considered the smallest species in the true seal family, although several related species, especially the Baikal seal, may approach similarly diminutive dimensions. Their small front flippers have claws more than thick that are used to maintain breathing holes through thick ice. The taxonomy of ringed seal has been much debated and revised in the literature. Due to its wide range, as many as ten subspecies have been"
"during the winter. The males tend to stay in the water, under the ice, all winter. Females usually give birth to one pup, but they are one of only two species of true seals with the ability to give birth to twins. Very rarely, triplets or quadruplets have been recorded. The twins often stick together for some time after being weaned. The females, after giving birth to their pups on the ice in late winter, become immediately impregnated again, and often are lactating while pregnant. Baikal seals are slightly polygamous and slightly territorial, although not particularly defensive of their territory."
"birth when sea ice extent is greatest. Pregnant females have a gestation of approximately ten to eleven months, and give birth to one pup. Females care for their pup on pack ice for approximately four to six weeks. The milk females provide their pup is high in proteins and lipids, which allows the pup to grow very quickly. While lactating, a female ribbon seal will not forage for food, but must rely on fat stores in her body. After weaning the pup the female will teach the pup how to dive to forage for prey. Seal pups are born with"
"NOAA. The scientific name originated in the Greek word for seal, ""phoce"", and ""larga"", the term used by the Siberian Tungus people for this seal. The English common name is comes from this seal's characteristic dark, irregularly shaped spots. Alaskan Eskimo names include ""issuriq"" (Central Alaskan Yup'ik language), ""gazigyaq"" in St. Lawrence Island Yupik, and ""qasigiaq"" in Inupiaq. The spotted seal is of the family, Phocidae, or ""true seals"". Compared to other true seals, they are intermediate in size, with mature adults of both sexes generally weighing between 180 and 240 pounds (81 to 109 kg) and measuring 4.59 to"
"on Oceans Google Earth, which allows the user to explore the oceans. His tags were recovered in January and he was not tagged again. Penelope Seal is an elephant seal and one of the many marine animals tagged as a part of the TOPP program. Penelope was born as a ""little"" pup in early January 1998 at the Año Nuevo State Reserve on the Californian coast. Since then, she has become a full grown female northern elephant seal with six pups of her own, and many fans who have contributed to her fame. From five years old, she has had"
"no more than deep. Pups up to one year old, however, will venture much deeper, diving as deep as . In a study conducted during the summer months, the seals have been found to feed on invertebrates such as anemones, sea cucumbers, and polychaete worms. The same study found that sculpins and arctic cod made up most of their summer diet. Sculpin were also found to be the largest fish consumed by the seals. Bearded seals are capable of preying on pelagic and demersal fish in addition to their benthic prey. Bearded seals give birth in the spring. In the"
"could suggest the seal could begin feeling increasingly safe to return to open beaches for breeding purposes in Cabo Blanco. Pups make first contact with the water two weeks after their birth and are weaned at around 18 weeks of age; females caring for pups will go off to feed for an average of nine hours. Most individuals are believed to reach maturity at four years of age. The gestation period lasts close to a year. However, it is believed to be common among monk seals of the Cabo Blanco colony to have a gestation period lasting slightly longer than"
"huge wave, she becomes trapped in a human form, known as a ""Selkie"" or ""seal maiden."" Although she lives as the wife of a fisherman and bears him children, known as ""ronans"" or ""little seals,"" she never quite loses her ""sea-longing."" Eventually she finds the ""seal-skin"" which the fisherman has hidden and slips back into the ocean. However, she can’t forget her husband and children and can even be seen swimming close to the shore, keeping a watchful and loving eye on them. Rónán Rónán (anglicized Ronan) is an Irish language male given name meaning ""little seal"" (""Rón"" meaning ""seal"","
"seals employ a reproductive strategy known as delayed implantation. This means that the blastocyst is not implanted for two months after fertilization, most often becoming implanted in July. Thus, the seal's total gestation period is around eleven months, though its active gestation period is nine months. Natural predators of the bearded seal include polar bears, who rely on these seals as a major food source. Killer whales also prey on these seals, sometimes overturning ice floes to reach them. Walruses also eat these seals, mainly pups, but such predation is rare. Bearded seals are believed to live up to 31"
"banned the offshore commercial hunting of whitecoats and bluebacks on December 30, 1987. Whitecoat A whitecoat is a newborn harp or grey seal with soft, white fur. Newborn seals have yellow fur because of amniotic fluid, and are still wet. When the pup dries, it is called a yellowcoat. The amniotic stain fades and the fur turns white within a few days, and it gets the name whitecoat. First it's called a ""thin whitecoat"", and when it becomes visibly fatter it is a ""fat whitecoat"". Nursing lasts for about 12 days. Cows frequently return to their pups to suckle. While"
"darker on the back; rarely with a few faint spots on the back or dark spots on the sides. Occasionally the face and neck are reddish brown. Bearded seal pups are born with a greyish-brown natal fur with scattered patches of white on the back and head. The bearded seal is unique in the subfamily Phocinae in having two pairs of teats, a feature it shares with monk seals. Bearded seals reach about in nose-to-tail length and from in weight. The female seal is larger than the male, meaning that they are sexually dimorphic. Bearded seals, along with ringed seals,"
"to 25%. Vocalization is thought to play an important role in breeding, since males are much more vocal around this time. Mating takes place in the water, and then the male leaves the female to care for the pup, to which the female gives birth after an average gestation period of 274 days. Research shows that on average, the aerobic dive limit for juvenile seals is around 7 minutes, which means that juvenile leopard seals don't eat krill during the winter months, which is a major part of older seals diets, since krill is found at deeper depths during this"
"access to easy prey without leaving prime territory. Grey seals are capital breeders, they forage to build up stored blubber, when they are breeding and weaning their pups they do not forage for food. They give birth to a single pup every year as early as 4 years old all the way to 30 years old. All parental care is provided by the female. During breeding, males don't provide parental care but they defend females against other males for mating. The pups are born at around the mass of 14 kg. They are born in autumn (September to December) in"
"are able to propel themselves quickly (as fast as ) in this way for short-distance travel, to return to water, to catch up with a female, or to chase an intruder. Pups are born with fur and are completely black. Their coats are unsuited to water, but protect infants by insulating them from the cold air. The first moulting accompanies weaning. After moulting, the coats may turn grey and brown, depending on the thickness and moisture of hair. Among older males, the skin takes the form of a thick leather which is often scarred. Like other seals, the vascular system"
"born after a 10-month gestation period. Average birth size is 3 ft (1 m) and 26 lbs. Pups are weaned six weeks later. The maximum lifespan of the spotted seal is 35 years with few living beyond 25. Spotted seals dive to depths up to 1,000 ft (300 m) while feeding on a variety of ocean prey. Juveniles eat primarily krill and small crustaceans while adults eat a variety of fish including herring, arctic cod, pollock, and capelin. They do not seem to vocalize a lot, although not much is known about their vocalizations. They appear to vocalize more while"
"as July in the subarctic zone. The mothers are the sole providers of care, with lactation lasting 24 days. Researchers have found males gather under water, turn on their backs, put their heads together, and vocalize to attract females ready for breeding. The single pups are born well developed, capable of swimming and diving within hours. Suckling for three to four weeks, pups feed on the mother's rich, fatty milk and grow rapidly; born weighing up to 16 kilograms, the pups may double their weight by the time of weaning. Harbor seals must spend a great deal of time on"
"breeding season and have been observed to fight. Copulation has only been observed to occur under water, where the female submits to the male as he approaches her dorsal side. The female is often bitten on the neck by her partner if she tries to escape or terminate copulation. The seals are normally around six to eight years old when they first breed, but this can be much earlier for some females. Weddell seals undergo delayed implantation. The embryo is not embedded into the uterus until the beginning of austral summer, between mid-January and mid-February, allowing for birth under more"
"Bearded seal The bearded seal (""Erignathus barbatus""), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (""eri"" and ""gnathos"") that refer to its heavy jaw. The other part of its Linnaean name means bearded and refers to its most characteristic feature, the conspicuous and very abundant whiskers. When dry, these whiskers curl very elegantly, giving the bearded seal a ""raffish"" look. Bearded seals are the largest northern phocid. They have been found to weigh as much as much as 300"
"January; captive female seals vocalize when they have elevated reproductive hormones. Conversely, a female leopard seal can attribute calls to their environment as well; however, usually it is to gain the attention of a pup, after getting back from a forage for food. Since leopard seals live in an area that's difficult for humans to survive in, there isn't much known on their reproduction and breeding habits. However, it is known that their breeding system is polygynous, meaning males mate with multiple females during the mating period. A sexually active female (ages 3–7) can give birth to a single pup"
"of individuals in the laboratory. Large crabeater seals can weigh up to . Pups are about in length and at birth. While nursing, pups grow at a rate of about a day, and grow to be around when they are weaned at two or three weeks. These seals are covered mostly by brown or silver fur, with darker coloration around flippers. The color fades throughout the year, and recently molted seals appear darker than the silvery-white crabeater seals that are about to molt. Their body is comparatively more slender than other seals, and the snout is pointed. Crabeater seals can"
"the usual short hair adults carry. The Hawaiian monk seal (whose Hawaiian name means ""the dog that runs in rough waters"") has a short, broad, and flat snout, with long nostrils that face forward. It has a relatively small, flat head with large, black eyes, eight pairs of teeth, and a short snout with the nostrils on top of the snout and vibrissae on each side. The nostrils are small, vertical slits, which close when the seal dives under water. Additionally, their slender, torpedo-shaped body and hind flippers allow them to be very agile swimmers. Adult males are in weight"
"400 seals per day, and 2000 per boat total. A 2007 population survey conducted by the DFO estimated the population at 5.5 million. It is illegal in Canada to hunt newborn harp seals (whitecoats) and young hooded seals (bluebacks). When the seal pups begin to molt their downy white fur at the age of 12–14 days, they are called ""ragged-jacket"" and can be commercially hunted. After molting, the seals are called ""beaters"", named for the way they beat the water with their flippers. The hunt remains highly controversial, attracting significant media coverage and protests each year. Images from past hunts"
"Baikal seal The Baikal seal, Lake Baikal seal or nerpa (""Pusa sibirica""), is a species of earless seal endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. Like the Caspian seal, it is related to the Arctic ringed seal. The Baikal seal is one of the smallest true seals and the only exclusively freshwater pinniped species. A subpopulation of inland harbour seals living in the Hudson's Bay region of Quebec, Canada (""lac de loups marins"" harbour seals), the Saimaa ringed seal (a ringed seal subspecies) and the Ladoga seal (a ringed seal subspecies) are found in fresh water, but these are part"
"with large darker and lighter patches, those on the belly being silvery white. Adult males usually bear scars, most of them around the genital region. Young Weddell seals have gray pelage for the first 3–4 weeks; later, they turn a darker color. The pups reach maturity at three years of age. The pups are around half the length of their mother at birth, and weigh . They gain around a day, and by 6–7 weeks old they can weigh around . Weddell seals are commonly found on fast ice, or ice fastened to land, and gather in small groups around"
"or light tan. Pups are born with a black coat similar to that of adults. The seals are one of the few with visible earflaps, confirming it is not a Phocidaen/true seal. Guadalupe fur seals breed along the eastern coast of Guadalupe Island, approximately 200 km west of Baja California. In addition, individuals have been sighted in the southern California Channel Islands, including two males who established territories on San Nicolas Island. Observations suggest reproductive males are faithful to particular sites over a number of years. Tenure of territorial males lasts from 35–122 days. Births occur from mid-June through July,"
"Weaning is abrupt; the mother turns from nursing to promiscuous mating, leaving the pup behind on the ice. While courtship starts on the ice, mating usually takes place in the water. After abandonment, in the post-weaning phase, the pup becomes sedentary to conserve body fat. Within a few days, it sheds its white coat, reaching the ""beater"" stage. This name comes from the sound a beater's tail makes as the seal learns to swim. Pups begin to feed on at 4 weeks of age, but still draw on internal sources, relying first on stored energy in the body core rather"
"seal.” In 2013, Derek Kaloust and Anna Tillett wrote a children’s book about Hoover and the Swallows entitled ""Hoover the Talking Seal"". Hoover (seal) Hoover ( – July 25, 1985) was a harbor seal who was able to imitate basic human speech. On May 5, 1971, Scottie Dunning discovered a tiny male harbor seal pup on the shore of Cundy’s Harbor, Maine. After a failed attempt at locating the pup’s mother, Dunning called his brother-in-law George Swallow for help. When Swallow arrived, the two searched for the mother seal and later found her dead among the rocks. After careful consideration,"