Scientists have confirmed that grey seals kill and eat harbour porpoises. On previous occasions porpoise carcasses with the tooth and claw marks of seals have been found beached but there was always the chance that this was scavenging on already dead animals.
Now, a series of six photos showing a seal grabbing a juvenile porpoise by the head have been taken at Cap Gris-Nez in Northern France. A second attack followed and the seal drifted out to sea while gnawing on the porpoise.
The article and photos are here:
Scientists confirm that gray seals kill and eat harbor porpoises | Justin Gregg | a nerd/science/culture blog by justin gregg
Grey seals now join the very limited group of Carnivora to prey on live cetaceans- polar bears and jaguars are the only other recorded species to my knowledge.
Now, a series of six photos showing a seal grabbing a juvenile porpoise by the head have been taken at Cap Gris-Nez in Northern France. A second attack followed and the seal drifted out to sea while gnawing on the porpoise.
The article and photos are here:
Scientists confirm that gray seals kill and eat harbor porpoises | Justin Gregg | a nerd/science/culture blog by justin gregg
Grey seals now join the very limited group of Carnivora to prey on live cetaceans- polar bears and jaguars are the only other recorded species to my knowledge.
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