Dolphins belong to the order Cetacea and the family Delphinidae, and are thought to have evolved from primitive hoofed mammals over 50 million years ago. Grey seals are found on both sides of the North Atlantic, also on the West Coast off Canada, on the East Side of Iceland, the Faeroes, Northern Norway, North East Russia, in the Baltic Sea and off the British Isles. Favoured haul out sites include inaccessible islands, coves and caves. These are smaller than grey seals and their coats are more extensively spotted.
Common seals prefer hauling out on sand banks and gently shelving rocky, shingle or sandy beaches.
They are found on both sides of the North Atlantic and on the Eastern seaboard of the North Pacific. The British population is distributed mainly in the Wash, the major Scottish estuaries, the Scottish islands and West Coast, and the West Coast of Ireland. Occasionally they are found off the Cornish coast. Click here to go back to the Front Page.