The grey seal pups in the Kjørholmane Nature Reserve

“Kjørholmane Nature Reserve is some weather-exposed islands outside Sola on the south west coast of Norway. During the wintertime, the grey seals give birth to their pups. For some weeks the new born pups put on a weight of 2 kg each day and can hardly move.”

Norwegian underwater photographer Vidar Skålevik of WeDive.no visited Kjørholmane in December 2016 to film these large grey seal pups. The video above shares what he saw during the visit.

More about these animals from NOAA Fisheries:

“Gray seals are part of the “true” seal family. All true seals have short flippers, which they use to move in a “caterpillar”-like motion on land. They do not have external ear flaps. Adult female gray seals are about 7.5 feet long and weigh about 550 pounds, while adult males can reach 10 feet long and weigh about 880 pounds. Females have silver-gray or brown fur which may or may not have scattered dark spots, while males have dark gray or brown fur which may or may not have silver-gray spots. Males also have longer noses than females. The male nose is so distinctive that the gray seal’s scientific name, Halichoerus grypus, means “hooked-nosed pig of the sea.”

“Gray seal pups have white fur known as lanugo. This white fur helps absorb sunlight and trap heat to keep the pups warm. The lanugo is also related to their evolutionary history with other ice-breeding seals… Pups shed their lanugo when they are about 3 weeks old.”

Filmed by WeDive.no earlier in the year at the same location, the video below documents seal activity in the water:

Watch more from Norway and these seal videos next:
• A girl snorkels with a grey seal
• The animals of South Georgia Island
• Grey seals on the foamy beaches of Bardsey Island
• Underwater Recording of Seal Calls
• A seal herds fish off the coast of Australia’s Bondi Beach