Nature through the eyes of my camera

The grey seal is the larger of the two seal seen around our coastline. The grey seal can be distinguished from the common seal by its nose. The nostrils are set apart and parallel, not V shaped as on the common. The male is much heavier than the female and darker in colour. They come ashore to mate and give birth, usually between October and January. The bulls can become very aggressive during mating and the cows will often fight back to protect their pups. Some of the images portray this behaviour.

Norfolk is well known for its grey seal population. This year has seen a record number of seal pups born at Horsey, over a thousand. It is spectacular to be able to view so many at any one time. Seal pup Soon after the seal pups are born the cows are ready to be impregnated again. They become very protective of their pups and try to keep the bulls at bay. The bulls can be very aggressive and it is not unusual for them to harm or even kill a pup during mating. Affectionate male