Hooded seals are marine mammals, related to other pinnipeds like sea lions and walruses. Pinnipeds feed in the ocean, but return to land to mate and bear young. They also will come ashore to rest or if they are wounded or sick.
Hooded seals are the largest seals on the East Coast.
Adult male hooded seals average 9 feet and weigh up to 900 pounds. Females are somewhat smaller, reaching lengths of 7.5 feet and often weighing more than 600 pounds. Adult hooded seals have a distinctive bluish-gray coat spattered with dark, irregular spots. The face is black, with a broad, flattened muzzle, and their large eyes are positioned near the top of the head. Males have a hood-like structure on top of the muzzle which can be inflated to form a crest nearly twice the size of a football during courting and territorial displays.