Seals
When is the best time to see seals?
Where's the best place to see them?
Help Save the Seals campaign
As we near the deadline of 6th October 2008 for feedback on Scotland's proposed new marine bill, click on our Help Save the Seals link and take action to help Advocates for Animals protect seals in Scotland. 
Grey Seals
With their big brown eyes and appealing dog-like faces, seals are attractive creatures. They live all over the world, from the frozen wastes of the polar regions, to the tropical beaches of Hawaii. Around 40% of the world's population of grey seals live around Britain and most of those in Scottish waters. Over 3,000 gather around the Isle of May, making it Britain's largest east coast breeding colony.
The scientific name for grey seal means "sea pig with a hooked nose" and this "Roman nose" is even more accentuated in the males. The name grey seal is a bit of a misnomer, since there is a lot of variation in colour from almost black bulls to creamy white cows, to the luxurious silky white fur of new born pups.
Britain's biggest mammal and largest carnivore, grey seals grow up to 2.3m in length. In the seal world, there's no such thing as being "too fat" and in the cold North Sea waters, grey seals have 6cm of blubber to keep them warm and their cylindrical shape, not only makes them streamlined for swimming, but minimises heat loss too. If they survive the dangers of being a pup, seals are relatively long-lived animals, often longer than 30 years.
When is the best time to see seals?
Atlantic grey seals can be seen all year round, but there are many more in October and November, when they give birth to their pups. The seals haul up in large numbers at low tide at both ends of the May Island, and can also be seen swimming at the base of the West Cliffs. Grey seals breed in winter. This is probably because during their evolution, the world was a colder and icier place. The fluffy white coats of the baby grey seal is a reminder of its snowy origins.
What are Seals?
They're from the group of animals called pinnipeds. This means "winged-feet" and refers to their flippers, which are specially adapted for life in the sea. Seals are different from their cousins, the fur seals and sealions, in a number of ways, in that they cannot walk about on all fours, but only wriggle on their stomachs. Fur seals and sealions also have ears, whereas seals' ears are so small that they can only be seen when they're wet. There are two species of seal in Britain, the grey seal and common, or harbour seal. Both spend much of their time at sea, but come ashore to breed and moult and can often be seen basking peacefully on beaches, sandbanks or rocks, and being curious creatures, sometimes swim up to boats to see what's going on.
Where's the best place to see them?
The best place to see grey seals in winter now is at the Scottish Seabird Centre! With the help of state-of-the-art technology, you can observe their behaviour face-to-face with our remote control "Big Brother" cameras. Reserachers also now make use of the Centre's cameras to observe the seal colony as it is often inaccessible in winter and the cameras can pick up the finest detailed close ups on inidivduals.
Occasionally, you will find seals hauled out on beaches along our coastline and it seems an increasing number on North Berwick's beaches. If you see a seal on a beach, don't go too close: if the seal is a pup, you might drive the mother away. And also a word of warning, they may look cute and cuddly, but seals are wild animals and they bite, so keep a safe distance and keep dogs well away! They can also often appear dead, when, in fact, they are only sleeping. Generally they are best left alone and are likely to head out on the next tide. If you do, however, suspect the animal is injured, please contact the SSPCA rescue line on 0870 73 77722 or call the Scottish Seabird Centre on +44 (0)1620 890202.
