Sussex seal sightings: Expert reports exciting year for seal sightings in Sussex

Zoologist Stephen Savage, project lead at the Sussex Seal Project, has been following Riviere in the River Adur for four years and was pleased to report recent sightings.

He said: "We were very excited to receive several sightings and photographs of Riviere in July, which we identified from her unique spot patterns. Riviere was recently seen hauling out with another rescued and released young harbour seal called Cherry.

"Cherry was rescued in September 2023 and after being cared for by the dedicated staff at the RSPCA seal hospital Mallydams, she was released back into the sea in November 2023. Staff were delighted that Cherry has looking fit and healthy eight months later."

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Young seal Riviere was rescued and released in Belgium before finding her way to the River Adur in 2020 and taking up residence for a couple of years. She was seen regularly in Shoreham, Upper Beeding and Henfield between 2020 and 2022 and is still being spotted locally.

Stephen said: "It has been an exciting year so far for seal sightings in Sussex. Seals have increased in recent years but social media has also played a major role in reporting of seal sightings and photographic evidence has shown that we are often seeing repeat sightings of the same seals."

Stephen has been monitoring and studying Sussex seals since 1989 and back then, only a handful of sightings were reported each year.

He said: "Part of our work with Sussex seals has been to help understand how seals interact with the the sea and river ecology and potential impacts on seals from anthropogenic sources.

"I am proud that the Sussex Seal Project has recently become a partner organisation of The Sea Alliance, which represents a wide selection of conservation groups with specific interest in the protection of our native seals and the partnership will help support this work within their regions."

One growing concern is the harm to seals caused by flying ring toys. Stephen explained that increasing numbers of seals have been found with these rings around their necks.

He explained: "Seals are very inquisitive and when they encounter them in the sea, they put their head through the rings, which then become stuck. Over time, as the seal grows, the rings will cut into the seal's neck. To help prevent this suffering, people are being asked not to use flying rings near the sea or rivers where a seal may come in contact with them."

Sightings of seals sent in by the public are a valuable source of data but Stephen is keen to emphasise that seals are easily disturbed and people should watch them from a safe distance.

He added: "Seals need to haul out on land to replenish energy lost during swimming and need to rest on land to remain healthy."

Stephen is keen to hear from anyone who has spots a seal or other sea mammal in Sussex. He would like to receive information including where the seal was spotted, the day and time, if the seal was swimming or hauled out and any other information.

Photographs are also very useful as they can be used to determine the species and along with video clips, can also give a valuable context to the sighting such as location or behaviours.

Photographs can also be used to create photo ID profiles identifying individual seals, to monitor the movements of individuals seals such as Rivere and Cherry. You can report your sea mammal sightings to the sighting email [email protected]. You can also see a monthly update of Sussex seals on the Sussex Seal Project Facebook Page.