Abstract
The grey seal is often appreciated as a nice, cuddly, friendly, fish eating animal, but recently discovered evidence is suggesting otherwise. Large numbers of mutilated harbour porpoises wash up along the southeastern North Sea, causing controversy among scientists, the fishing industry and conservationists whose views about the likely cause differed. Recently, grey seal DNA was detected in bite wounds present on such carcasses, identifying the grey seal as the perpetrator. Bite mark characteristics were assessed in a retrospective analysis of thousands of photographs of stranded porpoises on the Dutch coastline, revealing similar lesions present on 25% of the carcasses. Direct observations of grey seals clamping their paws and jaws on porpoises are also surfacing, and the story does not end there. In German waters recent sightings reveal that grey seals kill and predate on other seal species too. Is the grey seal the new top predator of the North Sea, and would human bathers and surfers also be at risk?
Original language | Dutch |
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Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Event | European Cetacean Society - Malta Duration: 23 Mar 2015 → 25 Mar 2015 Conference number: 29 |
Conference
Conference | European Cetacean Society |
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Period | 23/03/15 → 25/03/15 |