Scientific name : Halichoerus grypus
Family : Phocidae

 

Geographical distribution :

 

 

Large colonies of seals are situated in England, Scotland and Ireland. There are two small colonies of grey seals in Brittany, France at Molène-Ouessant and the Sept-Îles. The stranded seals that were recovered by our treatment centre came from these colonies.

The seals at the Biarritz Aquarium

The Aquarium has been providing a home to grey seals since its creation in 1933.

Our residents

– Okéra, Titounette, Sylvestrine and Charlie (the only male in the pool) were rescued as pups aged between 1 or 2 months after being stranded on beaches along the basque and landes coastlines.
– Naïa (16 December 2005) and Noëlla (Christmas Day in 2009) were born at the Aquarium, following the mating of Charlie with Okéra.

Diet

Seals usually feed on fish. Each seal eats about 4 kg of mackerel at each meal.

Appearance

They molt, shedding their fur twice a year.

Activities

Under the water, you can see them swimming or sleeping in nooks and crannies, sometimes in the most surprising positions.

Differences between seals and sea lions

There are two main characteristics that differentiate seals from sea lions :

 

– Seals do not have any external ears, they only have an auditory canal opening.
– They cannot bend their hind flippers so they crawl when on land, whereas sea lions can rotate their hind flippers to the ground and hop.

 

Our seals are not trained, but we do encourage them to do different exercises for medical reasons and to facilitate medical care and contact between the keepers and animals.

Survival of the species

After a gestation period lasting 11 months, the mother seal gives birth during the winter and then feeds their single pup for 21 days before abruptly abandoning her offspring. Many young pups die as they are still too young to fend for themselves. Others are carried along by the sea currents that then wash them up onto the Atlantic coastline.

Weight

Grey seals weigh 15 kg at birth and 50 kg when they are weaned (3 weeks later), and when they are found stranded on the beaches, they only weigh 10 to 15 kg. Every year, the Biarritz Aquarium recovers 2 or 3 seals that are treated and nurtured to fatten them up, they are tagged before being released back into the wild near Brest. This operation is part of the natural heritage programme called l’Observatoire du Patrimoine Naturel.

 

Scientific name : Gnathanodon speciosus
Family : Carangidae
Size : Up to 120 cm
Depth : Up to 80 m
Distribution : Red Sea, Tropical Indo-Pacific West and Central

 

Morphology : The livery is golden yellow with thin vertical black stripes.

 

Biology : It frequents the shoreline, and can accompany larger animals.

 

IUCN red list : Least concern

 

Scientific name : Epinephelus lanceolatus
Family : Serranidae
Size : Up to 270 cm long

 

Scientific name : Myliobatis aquila
Family : Myliobatidae
Size : Up to 180 cm
Depth : Up to 300 m
Distribution : East Atlantic, Mediterranean, Southwest Indian ocean

 

Morphology : It has a rounded snout and pointed pectoral fins. It is brown to black on its back and light, almost white on its belly. The whip-like tail is twice the length of the body.

 

Biology : They swim alone or in schools in open water or above the bottom. It feeds on crustaceans, bivalves or fish. It is an ovoviviparous species (babies are born already formed. They have fed and developed in eggs that have hatched inside the female). Gestation lasts 6 to 8 months and the female can give birth to several young (3 to 7).

 

Scientific name : Paracanthurus hepatus
Family : Acanthuridae
Size : Up to 31 cm
Depth : Up to 40 m
Distribution : Indo-Western Pacific

 

Morphology : The laterally compressed body is bright blue with two black stripes and the tail is yellow.

 

Biology : A sharp spine on each side of the tail is covered with venomous mucus and can cause severe pain.

 

IUCN red list : Least concern