Halichoerus grypus
Silhouette: Margot Michaud · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), or gray seal in the United States, is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus Halichoerus, it is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin, Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is also known as the horsehead seal, owing to its large head.
The grey seal is large and heavy, with individuals from the eastern Atlantic being 1.6–2.3 m (5 ft 3 in – 7 ft 7 in) long and weighing 100–310 kg (220–680 lb), while individuals from the western Atlantic are up to 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) long, and can reach a weight of as much as 400 kg (880 lb). It is found widely across the northern Atlantic, ranging from the US to Russia, and occasionally as far south as Portugal. It can be divided into two subspecies: the Baltic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus grypus), found in the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus atlantica), found everywhere else. The largest populations are in Canada and the UK.
Grey seals have a varied diet, feeding mostly on fish, and occasionally on invertebrates such as octopuses and lobsters. Their main predators are orcas, and they are also prey to sharks. The pups main predator is often eagles and gulls. Wikipedia →
Recording1:00
United Kingdom · 2019
© David de la Haye · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:31
Canada · 2022
© kaikens · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:19
Isle of Man · 2024
© Andrew Jacobs · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Vatnajokull National Park | 🇮🇸 Iceland | |
| 5 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 2 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 3 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Stockholm | 🇸🇪 Sweden | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Lisbon | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Seal sighting in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April to August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray Seal in Vatnajokull National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March and September–November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray Seal sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Gray Seal sightings, Vatnajokull National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 30%), Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, about 30%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray Seal is recorded against all the mammals logged in Vatnajokull National Park (12 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
