Images (Scroll down page) Video Key Facts

Live Cam and Video Clips Include:
Live Cam
Suckling Pup
Wary Mother, Newborn Pup

Presented by explore.org
and Seal Island National Wildlife Service

During the shortest days of the year, gray seals return to the rocky shore of Seal Island to give birth and feed. Watch live footage from the island as pups respond to their new environment. Seal mothers nurse their pups for about 3 weeks before leaving them on their own. The 300-pound females have one pup per year, with the peak of births in mid-January. The pups are born with thick, white fur which they begin to shed (molt) at about 3 weeks. After molting, young seals will look similar to their dark, spotted parents.

Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge is a remote 65 acre island off the coast of Maine. The island is also the prime nesting site for the Atlantic puffin.

How do Gray Seals respond to seasonal change? The images and video captured during the early spring birthing season are your springboard to research and discovery.

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