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Seal colonies in Ireland?

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    #32
    tyler71
    Registered Users Posts: 214 ✭✭tyler71


    Was swimming around Sandycove island (Cork) this evening and picked up a seal as an escort for a good part of the journey. Quite close (10-12ft), unfortunately the water was murky so didn't get a good view of him or her swimming around me. Nice, but a bit freaky, like being followed on a walk by a BIG dog - in the dark!


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    #33
    Kess73
    Registered Users Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    tyler71 wrote: »
    Was swimming around Sandycove island (Cork) this evening and picked up a seal as an escort for a good part of the journey. Quite close (10-12ft), unfortunately the water was murky so didn't get a good view of him or her swimming around me. Nice, but a bit freaky, like being followed on a walk by a BIG dog - in the dark!


    Nice area to be in the water, have gone scuba diving there a few times. You sure it was a seal that was circling you? I ask because I have had bottlenose dolphin circle me when diving in that area, and have seen the odd porpoise there too.


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    #34
    tyler71
    Registered Users Posts: 214 ✭✭tyler71


    Definitely a seal, everytime we stopped it would stop and stick it's head up for a look at us, close enough to see it's whiskers. Big and black - have seen the odd grey seal in West Cork but only black ones around Kinsale. Occasionally in the autumn I've seen a few of them out together herding a small shoal of fish onto the slipway in Sandycove - people would be going away with boxes of small fish! AFAIK they're only aggressive around mating season (the males) or when you're around the area where their pups are, which I'm guessing would be an island a lot further offshore than Sandycove.
    Never seen a dolphin or porpoise while I've been out though, that would be special. Apparently there's a big basking shark out around Kinsale at the moment, don't know if I'd be too keen on meeting it while in the water,though!


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    #35
    Kess73
    Registered Users Posts: 25,560 ✭✭✭✭Kess73


    tyler71 wrote: »
    Definitely a seal, everytime we stopped it would stop and stick it's head up for a look at us, close enough to see it's whiskers. Big and black - have seen the odd grey seal in West Cork but only black ones around Kinsale. Occasionally in the autumn I've seen a few of them out together herding a small shoal of fish onto the slipway in Sandycove - people would be going away with boxes of small fish! AFAIK they're only aggressive around mating season (the males) or when you're around the area where their pups are, which I'm guessing would be an island a lot further offshore than Sandycove.
    Never seen a dolphin or porpoise while I've been out though, that would be special. Apparently there's a big basking shark out around Kinsale at the moment, don't know if I'd be too keen on meeting it while in the water,though!


    Cool, sounds like a nice experience to have had such an escort back to shore.

    Basking sharks are harmless to meet in the water. Have met a few in Irish waters whilst diving.

    There is an initial moment of shock if one comes up on you with you unaware it was there. But in terms of safety there is no real danger. The only slight risk would be if you got too close and caught a belt of it's tail.

    If you want to see a bottlenose out by Sandycove, then I have found July and August to be good months as the water temp is normally up and a good number of fish are in there feeding, which in turn get fed on by the dolphin.

    The bottle nose are large enough if you meet them in the water. The ones I have seen around Sandycove and off the Old Head of Kinsale would be in the 7ft to 9ft bracket on average, with the odd male hitting the 11ft to 12ft range.

    You probably know this already, but if not, there are some really good numbers of Whale, dolphin and Porpoise in the area and passing through the area, and it is well worth going out on one of the whale watching boats in the area.


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