Grey seal sighting in Sussex: how rare it is; what is its scientific name and what is the link to Elton John?

After a grey seal was spotted at West Worthing Beach, Sussex World approached an expert for an insight into how rare the mammal is.
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Retired BBC producer Helen Cramer, 65, was shocked when she looked out the window of her flat, overlooking the seafront, and spotted a grey seal on Saturday afternoon (July 2) – but she initially thought it was a swimmer. Click here to see her video footage.

Helen sent the footage to Stephen Savage, who is Sussex regional coordinator of the Sea Watch Foundation’s Sussex Seal Project.

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Stephen, who has been studying Sussex seals since 1989, confirmed the video to be an adult grey seal.

The moment a rare seal swam through the sea at West Worthing was caught on video by retired BBC producer Helen CramerThe moment a rare seal swam through the sea at West Worthing was caught on video by retired BBC producer Helen Cramer
The moment a rare seal swam through the sea at West Worthing was caught on video by retired BBC producer Helen Cramer

"There are two species of seal found in Sussex water, the grey seal and the smaller harbour seal,” he said.

"There are a lot more seals around in Sussex than many people think.

"It’s fairy common to see a seal although there is also an element of being at the right place at the right time.

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"An adult grey seal like this is not common as they prefer rocky coastlines.”

How can a grey seal be distinguished?

According to wildlifetrusts.org, grey seals – whose scientific name is Halichoerus grypus (hook-nosed sea pig) – can be seen lying on beaches and are sometimes accompanied by their white fluffy seal pups ‘that look like balls of cotton wool’.

The website also stated that the grey seal can be distinguished from the common seal by its larger size and longer head with a sloping 'roman nose' profile.

It can be assumed that legendary singer Elton John came across the ‘wise’ sea creature before releasing his 1973 track – entitled ‘Grey Seal’.

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Stephen revealed that he has been notified of a ‘few inshore sightings’ of an adult grey seal in Sussex ‘over the last couple of months’.

He added: "However, many of the seals we see are juveniles, which wander far and wide until they are old enough to return to their breeding site, this includes harbour and grey seals.

“There is only one true seal colony in Sussex which is in the Solent and some of the harbour seals we see may originate there, however we also know that visiting seals may come from outside of Sussex, even as far as Belgium and the Netherlands.

"We have been able to trace the origin of these rescued and released seals by flipper tags.”

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Stephen said Sussex does not appear to have a seal population ‘as such’ but we do have seals that are ‘temporarily resident or passing through’.

"In 2021 we recorded 271 seal sightings that could be verified to species level, most being harbour seals,” he said.

"This year we already have over 360 sightings i have verified to species.

"Occasionally we can identify individual seals by their natural markings, in this case I produce photo ID profiles which allow us to track their movements.

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"For example a harbour seal called Riviere who was rescued and released in Belgium and turned up in the river Adur in May 2020, which I have been tracking ever since. It will probably return to Belgium this year.”

The Sea Watch Foundation works to reduce ‘disturbance of seals’.

Stephen added: “One of the things that has been very clear over the last few years is, because people rarely encounter a seal in Sussex, that many people are unaware of what disturbance is.

"They often think they have only disturbed a seal if it goes in the water and swims off.

“Increase in seal vigilance and stress is often indicated by the seal looking at the disturbance source (person), fast head turning increases if the seals are worried about more than one disturbance – which people often mistake for the seal being pleased to see them or even showing off.

"When disturbed, seals lose rest duration needed to restore energy and suffer stress so its a double problem.

"However, seals and people can coexists happily together.”

Stephen said he is always happy to receive sightings from the public. Photos can be sent to [email protected].

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