Grey Seal

Halichoerus grypus atlantica

### Regions

UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Canada, USA

## Habitat

### Water Area

200 m² +12 m²/ea. add'l
300 m² +41 m²/ea. add'l

### Temperature

0 m²
‒15‒26 ℃

## Social

### Fem. Bachelor

3‒8 (up to 2 males, up to 8 females)
3
3‒8

### Sterility

5 years
30 years

### Interbirth

11 months
13 months

## Taxonomy

### Order

Mammalia
Carnivora

### Genus

Phocidae
Leptonychotes

The **Grey Seal** (*Halichoerus gypus atlantica*) is a medium-sized Holarctic pinniped featured in the Aquatic Pack DLC for *Planet Zoo*.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population in the wild:** 400,000 (across both populations)

The Atlantic grey seal is a species of marine animal that lives around the landmasses of the Atlantic Ocean(UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Canada, U.S.A) Western Atlantic grey seals are significantly larger than the Eastern Atlantic morph. Their males measure up between 7.59ft and 9.57ft in length and weight 451-814lb, while females measure between 6.27ft-7.59ft in length and weight 352-550lb.

The grey seal has a large, round, barrel-like body that is grey dappled with white and a pale underside. Males tend to have a darker coloration than females and have a prominent hook-shaped snout, whereas the female's snout is straight. Males are much larger than females. Grey seal pups are cream-white and fluffy in appearance at birth but will lose their baby fur when they molt between 3-5 months old.

The grey seal is not endangered, and it is hunted in many areas for its pelt. It is perceived as a pest by fishermen and so the population is often culled. From 1982-1993 Norway, Iceland, and Canada offered bounties for Eastern Atlantic grey seals killings. Now, Europe has put some protections in place to restrict the killing of grey seals.

### Social

Although grey seals will group together on land during the breeding season, they spend most of their lives living and hunting solitarily in the ocean. However, they will tolerate and be curious of other seals if they meet them.

### Reproduction

Before the breeding season, grey seals will feed extensively, eating a huge amount of fish to build up their fat reserves ready for breeding. Prior to giving birth, female seals will haul out of the ocean to a 'rookery'-a seal breeding area. Rookeries can be on sandy beaches, rocky outposts, ice sheets, caves, islands, etc. The female will usually give birth to a single pup within a day of hauling out. Males will join groups of females after they have given birth and try to gain their harem, fighting off other males if they can. Grey seals fights can be aggressive and can become more violent depending on the number of females available.

After the 2 weeks of weaning, females are ready to mate. Males will mate with multiple females, and females may mate with more than one male depending on how well they are being guarded. Once her pup is weaned and she has mated, the female will leave her pup and go back to sea. She will not have eaten during the 3-week period she was ashore. The males remain at the haul out for around 6 weeks in the hopes of mating with as many females as possible. They will also not eat during the entire time they are on land.

Pups remain in the rookery living off their fat reserves until they have molted, at which point they will go to the sea for the first time and migrate far away from where they were born. Female grey seals reach sexual maturity at 4 years old. The males reach sexual maturity at 3 years old but are unlikely to mate until they are around 8 years old because that is when they have grown to a size that will allow them to defend females from rival males.

## Animal Care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Underwater Box Feeder · Block of Frozen Fish
Large Ball · Large Snow Ball · Skittle · Snowman Skittle Enrichment · Sprinkler · Rubber Duck · Platform Floats · Submarine Buoy

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* Grey seals have been known to dive at depths of 300m; their average dive depth is 70m.
* Grey seals do not need to drink water; they get all the water they need through metabolizing the fish they eat.
* Grey seal whiskers allow them to detect the movement from fish from 100m away.
* Female grey seals are likely to be pregnant for over 90% of their adult life.
* Grey seal pups suckle from their mothers for only 2 weeks after birth, and in that time they triple their body weight.

### Other Trivia

* When playing the game using US English, the species' name changes from "Grey Seal" to "Gray Seal", reflecting the different spellings of the word "grey/gray" between the United States and England.
* The Grey Seal was the first pinniped added into the game.