Scotland

The Grey SEALS

OF THE Isle of May

Gray seals are charismatic, large seals found along the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean and are part of the ‘“true seal’ family, which means they lack external ear flaps and move along the sand by flopping on their bellies.

Mention ‘seals’ and ‘the UK’ and most people immediately think the Farnes or Lundy Island, but Lawson Wood reckons that the Isle of May deserves to be on your list for consideration

Photographs by Lawson Wood

Although May Isle is only 57 hectares, it has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956 and is internationally important for its seabird and seal colonies. This small island has over 200,000 breading seabirds, as well as over 90,000 puffins - the island is honeycombed with their burrows

This is where the fun begins as these playful and inquisitive yearlings have great fun and believe me, the feeling is mutual

At the entrance to the Firth of Forth in southeast

Scotland, this wide expanse of water is guarded by a number of islands, with probably the most popular for diving being the Isle of May, or May Isle, as it is often regarded, which is located 4.5 miles from Crail in Fife.

We dived the island from Eyemouth and, of course, passed the legendary St Abbs Head (home to the oldest marine nature reserve in the British Isles) and the Bass Rock with its iconic, hundreds of thousands of resident gannets.

Approaching the Isle of May, it looks fairly flat and with the various remnants from World War Two on view, it almost looks a bit like an old battleship. The sides of the island are fairly steep and rocky and are overlooked by the ancient Victorian Lighthouse, but the southwestern corner has flatter rocks, numerous gullies and a small nearshore reef making it the perfect hang-out for juvenile grey seals.

Most divers visiting the island often visit the wreck of the Anlaby. This former British iron screw steamer weighed 717 tons and ran aground on 23 August 1873 in thick fog, while carrying a cargo of coal from Leith to Danzig. Most of her interesting bits are found in less than 5m and her propeller and shaft, etc, are all very obvious and a great backdrop for photography. Although May Isle is only 57 hectares, it has been a National Nature Reserve since 1956 and is internationally important for its seabird and seal colonies. This small island has over 200,000 breading seabirds, as well as over 90,000 puffins - the island is honeycombed with their burrows. Large numbers of grey seals make the Isle of May their home and during the summer months, most are found lounging on the shallow coastal rocks to the southwest of the island.

Known as Phoque Gris by the French and Foca Gris by the Spanish, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) - meaning ‘hooked-nosed sea pig’ - is the most-common seal found around our coastal waters, in fact much more common than the common seal (Phoca vitulina). This is a true seal and is the largest carnivore recorded in British waters. It is found on both sides of the Atlantic and is one of the largest seals, with bulls reaching 2.5–3.3 metres long and weighing 170–400kg. The females or cows are much smaller, typically 1.6–2.0 metres long and 100–190kg in weight. These seals

Mind out for their sharp teeth

Large numbers of grey seals make the Isle of May their home and during the summer months, most are found lounging on the shallow coastal rocks to the southwest of the island

The seals are inquisitive Seal playing with Lawson’s Force Fins

Dive with the seals

Marine Quest, 07780 823884, info@marinequest.co.uk Rock House Diving, 01890 771945, paul@divestabbs.info Shadow Marine, 07714 855191, www.Shadow-Marine.co.uk The Dive Bunker, 01592 874380, hamishdivedog@hotmail.com Aquamarine Charters, 07860 804316, www.aquamarine-charters.co.uk

are recognised by their straight head profile, a classic arched ‘Roman’nose and large wide-set nostrils. The females are generally a silver grey colour with light brown patches. They have their pups in October and November, and it is these youngsters which are the most curious and make for the best interactions during dives.

Usually done as a second dive, or intermediate snorkel between dives, the juvenile seals are easily approachable as they lie out on the shallow rocks. Once they detect your presence they silently slip into their favourite gully and sneak up on you. I usually do this on my own, as lots of other divers or snorkellers usually confuse the situation. But considering that I am only in less than 3m of water or just floating on the surface, I consider this one of my best solo experience encounters. It doesn’t take long for you to pique the seals’ interest and while you are checking out the surface approaches, a likely youngster sneaks up underneath you through the kelp and tugs on your fins. The fact that I wear ‘fish-tail’ shaped fins by Bob Evans of Force Fin fame only heightens their curiousity.

This is where the fun begins as these playful and inquisitive yearlings have great fun and believe me, the feeling is mutual. I have dived with seals and sealions in many different parts of the world, including Vancouver Island, the Baltic Sea, Ireland, northwest Scotland, Baja California and, of course the Farne Islands, but by far the best seal interactions I have ever enjoyed has been in the summer months on the Isle of May. n