GRAY SEAL (Halichoerus grypus)
The largest marine mammal in the Baltic Sea, the gray seal, whose males can weigh up to 300 kg, is a skilled fish-eating hunter. It can swim at speeds over 20 knots for hours. Gray seals eat 7-8 kg of fish a day. When hunting near the seabed, the gray seal usually focuses on old and slower fish, thus acting as a marine sanitary. During the day, gray seals rest on the seabed, from where they rise to the surface of the water every 5-6 minutes, as if by the way, without even opening their eyes. All pinnipeds need a flat surface for calving, in which the gray seal chooses an islet or a shoreline. Because there is a shortage of suitable rookeries by the sea, the animals form colonies, which is also safer for them. In the spring, males first come to the coast to choose a rookery. In a few weeks, the females join them, and then simultaneously, a wedding will be held, and birth will be given to a seal pup in a white fur coat conceived last spring. The mother breastfeeds the pup for 2-3 weeks, and then the cub becomes independent. For the first months of life, seal pups often congregate in groups with other peers.
