Seals and Porpoises
Seals
Ramsey is host to one of the largest breeding colonies of Atlantic Grey seals in the British Isles. Throughout most of the year there is a relatively small population of around 100 seals in the waters around the island, however, twice annually these numbers will increase significantly as the mammals come to the area, to moult in February/March and to breed in late August through to November. During the breeding season in particular, numbers may increase to just under a thousand seals.
Pups
The seals give birth to their pups on the beaches around the island and will feed those pups for three to four weeks, in which time the pup will triple its birth weight as the female, who does not feed herself whilst feeding the pup, rapidly loses condition. The pups are born with a white fluffy non waterproof coat which they will moult out in their fourth week when they are weaned. During these first few weeks of life the pups spend very little time in the water, as they are not good swimmers at this stage and initially do not have sufficient body fat to keep them warm in the sea.
They will however be encouraged into the water by the mother towards the end of this period when they will be given “swimming lessons”. Once they have been weaned they are abandoned as the mother will head out to sea to start feeding again to build up the fat reserves she has used up feeding the pup. The pup is left to fend for itself and this includes learning to catch its own food. During the first couple of months the pups are very vulnerable to bad weather which is the main cause of fatalities amongst them.
Life span
The average life span of an Atlantic grey seal is between 25 and 35 years old. Generally the females will live for 5-10 years longer than the males. This is probably largely to do with the fact that during the breeding season they will breed on a harem basis whereby an adult bull will hold a territory with as many as 8 breeding females. They will defend this territory ferociously from any other bull seals, fighting for the right to mate with the female which will happen when she has weaned the pup. A bull seal therefore will spend much of his time fighting during the breeding season, and as he is unwilling to leave the territory unprotected for any length of time he will not feed very much.
Porpoises
Porpoises are the smallest member of the whale and dolphin family, reaching a maximum length of 1.7m. There is a resident population of Harbour Porpoise in Pembrokeshire that feeds in Ramsey Sound every day.
They are tidal feeders, and as such, their feeding habits tend to be predictable. They feed on the South end of Ramsey Sound on the ebb tide then as the tide floods in, they can be found closer to St Davids Head. They will feed up and down from Stumble Head to Skomer Island and back, for about 23 hours a day!
They are feeding machines and hunt using echolocation. Porpoises will dive underwater for up to five minutes, and though relatively slow swimmers, they can cover hundreds of miles in a few days.
Unlike dolphins, porpoises are quite shy creatures and very solitary. They will tolerate the boats but will not interact with the vessel, or work together in pods to feed.
