# Grey seal (*Halichoerus grypus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-seal  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) is a mammal of the family Phocidae in the order Carnivora. It is a large, marine, diurnal piscivore whose main foods are fish, nephropidae and octopoda; adults have a representative body mass of 157.7 kg, with up to 197.6 kg reported. Gestation lasts 291.2 days, with up to 350 days reported, and a litter has 1 young; sexual maturity is reached at 4.6 years, with reported values from 4.1 to 5.2 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the grey seal as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 157.7 kg – 197.6 kg |
| Length | 1.6 m – 2.3 m |
| Lifespan | 44.5 years |
| Diet | Piscivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 46.7 years |
| Main food | fish, nephropidae, octopoda |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 291 days – 350 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 4.1 years – 5.17 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.93 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Halichoerus
- species: *Halichoerus grypus* (Fabricius, 1791)

Synonyms: *Halichoerus griseus*, *Halichoerus grypha*, *Phoca atlantica*, *Phoca baltica*, *Phoca griseus*, *Phoca grypus*, *Phoca halichoerus*, *Phoca macrorhynchus*, *Phoca pachyrhynchus*, *Phocha halichoreus*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a grey seal?

The grey seal is a marine mammal of the family Phocidae, in the order Carnivora.

### How heavy is a grey seal?

An adult grey seal has a representative body mass of 157.7 kg, with up to 197.6 kg reported. It falls in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).

### What does a grey seal eat?

The grey seal is a piscivore whose main foods are fish, nephropidae and octopoda.

### Is the grey seal endangered?

No. The grey seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a grey seal live?

The grey seal has a lifespan of 44.5 years, with up to 46.67 years reported.

### How many young does a grey seal have?

A grey seal has 1 young per litter, after a gestation of 291.2 days.

### When does a grey seal reach sexual maturity?

A grey seal reaches sexual maturity at 4.6 years, with reported values from 4.1 to 5.2 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grey-seal