SEALS. These are grey or Atlantic seals which are fish eating animals. The male or Bull has a longer nose and his coat is black with white spots whereas the cow is white with black spots. They are mature at 5-6 years and the pups are born between September and early November. The pup is born with white fur for the first 3-4 weeks and is suckled on land by the mother. Sand eels, squid, herring and cod form a large part of their diet as well as angler, salmon and more commercial fish. They are opportunistic and take whatever is easiest to conserve energy. They can spend as long as 15 minutes under water, so they accumulate masses of toxic respiratory wastes in their bodies, so they spend quite a lot of time hauled out recovering. There are large colonies or rookeries of seals living on islands in Dunmanus Bay. They breed in June and July when the cows haul themselves ashore to give birth to the pups. They feed the pups on their rich milk for several weeks living on fat reserves before mating and returning to the sea.