Other
Harbour seal
Phoca vitulina
Phoca vitulina Linnaeus, 1758 · Phocidae WoRMS 137084
Reference photos
Tap a photo to enlarge.
A smaller seal than the grey seal, with a rounded head, a short muzzle, and nostril slits that form a 'v' when seen head on. The coat is grey to brownish-grey with an even scatter of small darker spots. It lives along shorelines and in estuaries, coming ashore in sheltered water on sandbanks, beaches, reefs and tidal rocks, on a haul-out pattern that often follows the tide. Pups are born in June and July and adults moult in August.
Depth
Forages at around 91 m on average and dives to 427 to 450 m, staying down up to 30 minutes
Size
1.2 to 2 m long and 65 to 140 kg, adults typically 80 to 100 kg; males slightly bigger than females
Habitat
Shallow coastal water, bays and estuaries; comes ashore on sandbanks, beaches, reefs and tidal rocks
Behaviour
Hauls out on land on a pattern tied to the tide; usually solitary, gathering in small mixed groups to pup in June and July and moult in August
Diet
I eat
- A wide range of fish: sandeels, gadoids, herring and sprat, and flatfish, with the mix varying by season and region
- Cephalopods: octopus and squid
- Crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp, which are the main food of newly weaned pups
Eats me
- Grey seals, whose adult males prey on adult harbour seals, most of all during the breeding season
- Sharks, killer whales and polar bears
- People, who prey on them in some areas of the Arctic and hunt them for blubber, meat, fur and skin
Where you'd find it
Mostly seen in the English Channel, the North Sea and the waters west of Scotland, and only here and there elsewhere.
Sources
Open-access references behind this page. Every statement on this page was read out of one of them; anything that could not be traced to a source was taken off the page rather than left standing. Each link was checked on the date shown, and confirmed then to be about this species.
Phoca vitulina (harbor seal) - Animal Diversity Web species account
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Weblink checked 2026-08-30
Intraguild predation in sympatric seals and the effect on a declining population
British Ecological Society / Wiley (Journal of Animal Ecology 94(12):2572-2583); open-access copy on PubMed Central. Author affiliations: Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews; Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, University of Glasgow (2025)
PaperCC BY 4.0link checked 2026-08-30
Marine Scotland Science, Scottish Government (2016)
WebOpen Government Licence v3.0link checked 2026-08-30
Common or Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)
Marine Life Information Network, Marine Biological Association of the UK
MarLINlink checked 2026-08-30
Scientific Advice on Matters Related to the Management of Seal Populations: 2025
Natural Environment Research Council Special Committee on Seals, compiled by the Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews (2025)
SCOSlink checked 2026-08-30
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS Editorial Board)
TaxonomyCC BY 4.0link checked 2026-08-30
Name Harbour seal in a clip to add it to your collection.