A ranger watches a seal pup near the Northumberland coast, Farne Islands, UK on December 19, 2018, where the National Trust says the number of Atlantic grey seal pups has reached a record high thanks to an abundance of food and a lack of predators. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire Press Association)

Weddell seal numbers in 2025 have declined sharply on Signy Island, part of the South Orkney Islands in the Southern Ocean, where British Antarctic Survey researchers have tracked seal populations for nearly 50 years to understand the impact of melting sea ice. (Photo by Michael Dunn/The Times)

A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. (Photo by Paul Nicklen/National Geographic). Antarctic Peninsula, 2011

An Atlantic seal pup lies amongst the rocks at St Martin's Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Britain October 8, 2018. Seal pups are born with fluffy white non-waterproof coats which they moult out in their fourth week. (Photo by Rebecca Naden/Reuters)

Inquisitive elephant seal pups venture towards a photographer on South Georgia, an uninhabited island near Antarctica early July 2022. The seals are not used to seeing humans and shuffled closer to Charlotte Rhodes rather than shying away. (Photo by Charlotte Rhodes/Media Drum Images)

“This grey adult male seal enjoys a good grin while lying on the beach”. (Photo by Michael Hutch/SplashdownDirect via Rex USA)

Grey seal pup “Nikolaus” licks a window at the seal enclosure in Friedrichskoog, Germany, 19 December 2014. The pup was abandoned by his mother and would not have a chance at survival without human help. Nikolaus will be fed at the enclosure for two to three months until he has reached the minimum weight of 45 kilograms for being released. (Photo by Daniel Reinhardt/EPA)

Grey seals show their playful side while swimming off the English coast, UK in the last decade of May 2025. (Photo by Brian Matthews/Solent News)