548B - Seals II - Grey seal

Ringed seal (Phoca hispida) is slightly smaller than the harbor seal. This species has a circumpolar distribution and is by far the largest seal stock in the Artic. It is a common vagrant in Iceland, especially in the north. Most often they come alone or in a flock of few, in most cases adult males. The ringed seal reaches a length of 190 cm and can weight up to 100 kilos The male is somewhat larger than the female. The ringed seal get their name by silvery rings on its back and light rings on the side of their coat. Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) is a large seal which is common on both sides of the Atlantic. It is one of two species of seals that bear pups in Iceland - the other being the harbor seal. Grey seals are double thre size of harbor seals. The male can reach a length of 3 meters and wiegh up to 300 kilos. The females are grey-coloured with dark spots on their coat while the bull is almost uniformly dark. Eyes and ears are high up on the head so that the seal can look around without raising its head high above sea level.