Gray Seal

(Halichoerus grypus), an aquatic mammal of the family Phocidae. Males measure 1.7–2.5 m in length; females are somewhat smaller. Adults are mottled, while the young are covered with a white, wooly coat. Gray seals are distributed in parts of the North Atlantic from the coastal waters of the Barents Sea to Canada and in the Baltic Sea. The Baltic subspecies breed and give birth between late February and early March on ice, while the Atlantic subspecies breed and give birth in late autumn on islands. Gray seals live mostly in herds and maintain harems on islands. They feed mainly on fish. Gray seals are not numerous and require protection wherever they occur.