OBSERVATIONS ON THE GREY SEAL ( HALICHOERUS GRYPUS ) AT NORTH RONA IN 1960

• Published in: Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
• Main Authors: BOYD, J. MORTON, LAWS, R. M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1962
• Subjects: General Medicine; Norway; Rona; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1962.tb01829.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1469-7998.1962.tb01829.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1962.tb01829.x; https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1962.tb01829.x

An expedition visited North Rona between 16th October and 7th November, 1960. The work done supplements that described by Boyd, Hewer & Lockie (1962). The spatial distribution of the seal colony is described in relation to the vegetation. Much of the sward previously attributed to annual puddling by seals was unoccupied. Vegetational divisions may be man‐made but maintained by seals. A census of the colony showed that by 5th November the number of moulters present on the island on any one day had passed its peak. The timing of the season is slightly different in different parts of the island. Although in the colony as a whole there was no significant difference in the number of pups born in 1959 and 1960, significant differences occurred in the two study areas, Fianuis North and Central. Three hundred and five moulters were branded and/or tagged. Recoveries to date have been obtained from Iceland, Faeroes, Norway, Scotland and Eire.