Seals are instantly recognisable as they swim gracefully close to shore. However, while you will no doubt have seen Seals lots of times bobbing in the water round piers and harbours, not many people have ever seen a wild Otter. Otters are elusive, nocturnal creatures who are masters at staying hidden among rocks, bog or grass.

There are several resident seals in Galway Bay, made up of the two native species, Grey Seal and Common Seal, and there are Otters living in various water-ways around the west of Ireland

Seals are large, powerful creatures, which like many marine mammals, are graceful and agile when in the water, but clumsy and slow on land. Seals feed almost entirely on fish, which they hunt in clear water with their excellent eyesight. However, if water visibility is poor, they are able to detect vibrations in the water using their sensitive whiskers, and this enables them to hunt their quarry in virtually any conditions.

A seal has large layers of blubber under their skin which protect them from the cold, and also helps with their streamlining. They have a large volume of blood in their bodies, which allow them to store extra oxygen in their system for deep dives in search of fish.

It is thought that seals actually evolved from Otter-like ancestors, some 20 million years ago.
Seals belong to the group of aquatic mammals known as ‘pinnipeds’. This name is derived from the Latin words ‘pinna’ meaning fin or wing and ‘pedis’ meaning foot. Pinnipeds include Seals, Sea Lions and the Walrus. They all share many characteristics including the habit of spending time basking on dry land.

It should be noted that Seals can carry a nasty virus, called Phocine Distemper Virus, which is potentially lethal to humans. So Seals, even babies, should never be handled in the wild, as a bite from a Seal can prove a lot more harmful that just the nasty wound their powerful jaws are capable of inflicting. If you find a seal on a beach or bay and you think it may be distressed, you should leave it alone as it is usually just a young one resting. If it is still there in 24 hours, you should contact your local SPCA centre, Seal Sanctuary, or even aquarium for advice.

This is the larger of the two seals native to Irish waters, and much the commoner. Grey Seals inhabit most coastal regions round Ireland, including many harbours, piers and marina’s, though they prefer more remote, exposed rocky locations for coming on land. Over half the world’s population of Grey Seals are found round the coasts of Britain and Ireland, and their numbers have been growing steadily for over 50 years.

Size
The male (bull) is much the larger of the sexes, reaching over 2m in length and nearly a quarter of a tonne in weight. The female (cow) is shorter and less well built, reaching 1.8m length and just 150kg weight.

Breeding
There is 11 and a half months between mating and birth, and the actual pregnancy takes nine months. A single new born calf arrives in the autumn, weighing 15kg. Wearing a white coat, it is suckled by its mother on a diet of high-fat milk for 3 weeks, during which time it sheds its white coat, and gains weight (about 2kg a day) and size rapidly. After this it is abandoned to fend for itself. The mother mates again and leaves the breeding area (an exposed area of coastline known as a ‘rookery’.) Males compete to mate with females, but there is little of the fighting associated with the Walrus. A successful bull seal can mate with up to ten females in a breeding season.

This is a smaller seal than the Grey, and although globally widespread, is less often seen around Ireland’s coast, with numbers thought to be around 5,000. It is also less sociable and spends more of its time on its own or in small groups. It does tend to spend time round harbours though, (hence their other name, the Harbour Seal) and are more likely to common ashore (known as ‘hauling out’) in inhabited areas than the Grey Seal. They do this during the breeding season, but also on a daily basis to rest and relax. They aren’t as well travelled as Grey Seals, and most Common Seals will spend most of the year within just a few miles of their breeding ground. The Common Seal can be prey for larger marine creatures such as Killer Whales, Sea Lions and Polar Bears.

Size
Males are larger, reaching 1.8m in length and around 120kg weight. Females grow to around 1.5m length and 80kg weight.

Breeding
Unlike the Grey Seal, courtship and mating between Common Seals takes place under water. Males will fight for the right to mate, and neck wounds are not uncommon on bull seals. Males can lose up to a quarter of their body-weight during the breeding season due to strenuous competing and mating. Males do not live as long as females, and the stress of the breeding season is thought a likely explanation for this. When the pup is born, in late Summer, it is already well-developed, and is able to enter the sea and swim within just a few hours. It is fed by its mother for around 4 weeks until it is able to fend for itself. By this time, the mother has already mated again. The Common Seal moults its white coat in the womb, and so is born wearing its adult coat.

Immortalised in the best selling novel “Ring of Bright Water”, Otters are as mysterious and intriguing as they are beautiful and intelligent. Rarely seen in the wild, these small aquatic mammals possess many character traits and physical features also found in the domestic dog.

There is one type of Otter native to Ireland, the European Otter. This is a large, fish eating otter, which is very secretive and rarely seen by the public. It is not un-common around the west of Ireland, but rarely seen by people. The European Otter can be found hunting (and playing) in both the sea and fresh water, but in Ireland it is nearly always found in fresh water around lakes, rivers, streams and even bogs. Unlike Seals, Otters are much more at home on dry land and can dash across bogs, rocks and grassy banks with great agility and speed.

The European Otter grows to over 1m (3 feet) in length, and a large adult can reach weights approaching 12kg (25 pounds). They have five toes on each foot, which are webbed together, as well as a powerful, rudder-like tail, to aid swimming. Their claws are sharp and strong: useful for gripping slimy eels, and their jaws are incredibly powerful.

Their favoured foods include Common Eel and Trout, but they will eat Frogs and shellfish if there are no fish to be found.

Otters breed all year round, with a gestation period (pregnancy) lasting 2 months. Cubs are blind and helpless when born. They are covered in a dark grey, downy fur, and don’t open their eyes until they are a month old. Another fortnight later and they will venture out of their holt with their mother. They are weaned from milk onto fish at around four months old.