Rye Harbour Seals

Barry Yates
, 09 January 2022
Rye Harbour Seals
Tagged Harbour Seal / Tony Ham

We have two species of seal at Rye Harbour and generally the Grey Seal is in the open sea and the Harbour Seal is in the river and these have recently increased to about 12 individuals. A few years ago it was unusual to see more than 1 !

Last November local photographer Tony Ham was able to read the flipper tags on two of the seals and it's interesting to know where they came from.

C-3PO - the lighter one on the left, was released by RSPCA - Mallydams Wood on the 4th December 2020. She was from the local area, incredibly small and underweight and also had an eye injury.

528 -  came from Centre de Soins de la Faune Sauvage LPA de Calais and she was picked up on 27th August  2020 in Bray Dunes near Dunkirk with a weight of 10kg and was released on 6th November 2020 on the Sangatte beach near Calais with a weight of 30 kgs.

The release site and re-sighting location of 528.

Thanks to Tony for spotting the tags, reading them, finding out where they came from and letting us know. This is the value of wildlife recording and adds to our knowledge of our local wildlife.

If you want to know how to separate the two species click here for a leaflet that explains.

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Comments

  • Maria Bannerman-Adams:

    Would love to come to Rye Harbour. , I hear that there is a little boat trip over to see the seals? Please could you let me know more.
    Love these mammals!
    Kind tegards
    Maria

    09 Jun 2023 10:06:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Maria, boat trips aren't something that Sussex Wildlife Trust offers, but there is a company based in the Harbour who does who offers Sea Safari Boat Trips.

  • Robert Donelan:

    Two large harbour seals followed us up front the sea to the lifeboat station at Rye harbour. Beautiful. Very inquisitive. Sunday.

    24 Sep 2023 12:44:00

  • Clive:

    Late August 2024 I sailed up river and noticed a herd of at least 12 seals on my port side. They were resting on a mud bank. Tide was still flooding but only to neep of just 2.5 metres. Some looked large. I have a long distance photo. Do grey seals sit near harbour seals?

    31 Aug 2024 13:29:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Yes, both species share the same habitat

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