Preliminary report on predation by adult grey seals on grey seal pups as a possible explanation for corkscrew injury patterns seen in the unexplained seal deaths: addendum
Summary
This is a preliminary report on a sequence of lethal attacks by a male grey seal on recently weaned grey seal pups on the Isle of May in December 2014. The seal’s behaviour during a period of intense visual observation between 2nd and 9th December was described, and its subsequent movement pattern to date and describe the initial results from post mortem examination of the dead pups. These observations were discussed in relation to previous corkscrew seal observations at the Isle of May and in relation to recent observations of similar attacks by adult male grey seals on both grey seal pups and harbour seals.