Did you know that the Solent is the site of the only colony of seals in the whole of the South East of England? It is only comparatively recently that seals started breeding in the Solent, with the first 2 harbour seals arriving in 1994. By 2017, there were 49 harbour seals (including 11 pups) locally, together with 7 grey seals. Unfortunately, the Solent seal group is said to be the least understood in the country. There are 2 species of seal present in the seas around the Isle of Wight: the harbour (or common) seal and the grey seal. The 2 species are difficult to tell apart. The grey seal is the larger of the 2 species, weighing up to 300kg. It is said to have a Roman nose and parallel nostrils that do not meet. The grey seal is more gregarious, sitting close to its fellow seals in groups of up to 200. The harbour seal is the smaller, weighing up to 100kg. It has a muzzle similar to a dog and V-shaped nostrils that meet at the bottom. When on haul out sites, they sometimes adopt a banana shape when resting with their heads and tails up. The harbour seal is unsociable and will growl or headbutt if other seals invade its personal space. Seals have 2 main haul out sites on the Solent: Chichester and Langstone Harbour. However, they frequently feed off the north-east coast of the Island between Bembridge and East Cowes. Occasionally, they venture further afield, resting in Sandown Bay, Ventnor beach and the mouth of Newtown estuary. Seal visits to the Isle of Wight below: Seals have, of course, always visited our coasts, although infrequently. There may be more seals around our shores currently than there ever were in bygone times. 1 visit of a grey seal was in 1848, which was documented in the book ‘The Undercliff of the Isle of Wight’ by Dr Martin. On that occasion, a coastguard came across what he took to be dead body on the beach at Shanklin on a November evening. When he came close to the ‘body’, it lifted its head and snarled at him. The Coastguard then attacked the unfortunate seal with a cutlass and killed it. Its body was then stuffed and put on display at Shanklin Chine. A large male grey, christened ‘Ron’ (as in Ronseal) has been a frequent visitor to the south coast of the Isle of Wight this century, having been spotted from Shanklin to Atherfield. In 2018, he was joined by a female mate, who was christened ‘Ronette’. Another well-known pinniped visitor to the Island is an elderly grey male (thought to be over 30 years old), known as ‘Grumpy’ for his irritable and unpredictable temperament. He could be identified by a hook and fishing line caught in his rear flipper. Seal experts did not believe him distressed by the hook as seals are very thick skinned, besides which it would be difficult to find a volunteer to attempt to remove it from the large and notoriously bad-tempered aquatic mammal. ‘Grumpy’ has been partial to taking a nap on Ventnor beach when on holiday, as reported by Island Echo… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjva8SfN0T8 This year, a grey seal was caught on camera spitting a jet of water at a swooping sea eagle at Newtown Creek after first barking a warning at the raptor. Might this have been ‘Grumpy’ on 1 of his Island visits? Sadly, seals are frequently washed up on Isle of Wight beaches. In 2020, a dead seal was discovered on a slipway in Bembridge. In August 2022, a seal pup that washed up on the shore at Yaverland in a poor condition and was euthanised. However, it has been possible for some seals that have washed up on our shores to receive appropriate veterinary care as happened to a young seal which came ashore at Small Hope beach Shanklin in 2018. Have you seen a seal in the seas around the Isle of Wight or coming ashore on 1 of our beaches? Let us know in the comments…
ISLE OF WIGHT FAUNA: SEALS – FREQUENT VISITORS TO ISLE OF WIGHT’S BEACHES AND HARBOURS
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There was one in West Cowes a few years sago, I did get some photos, I will look for them.
Blood Bob Seal. Pops up for any photo opportunity.
Not sure where the reporter got his info but this is not at all accurate! The Solent is NOT the only place in the south where there are seals!!
I only hope this article does not cause more distress to these beautiful creatures by encouraging people to go looking for them and trying to get up close etc when they are resting!
Lovely to read about this, with a bit of history too. Good to know that creatures apart from ourselves hold land and sea rights here!
I am surprised the Councils G’estapo Enforcement Officers
don’t slap tickets on them!, they slap tickets on vehicles if they
go a few minutes over their time, yet they let vehicles park
outside Sandown Pier on Double Yellow Lines.
Saw one yesterday on the mainland at Milford on Sea.