Hooded seal
The hooded seal is a species found around Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland and Spitsbergen. The males can grow up to 3 meters in length and weigh more than 400 kilograms. Males have a notable nose and a cavity in their forehead which they can blow up. During the mating ritual, the nose is blown up even more, appearing as a kind of hood. Hooded seals are rare for the southern North Sea.
Distribution of hooded seals
Reports of hooded seals in Western Europe were an exception up till 1996, however they have been spotted more often since then. On August 31 1996, a young hooded seal was found in the harbour of Oudeschild on Texel and was brought to Ecomare, a first for this seal sanctuary. This male hooded seal had a fever and several infections on its back. He weighed 36 kilograms. The animal ate well from the start and recovered quickly from its surface wounds. Hooded seals cannot survive in captivity because they need lots of room to swim. Therefore, it was very important to find transportation to northern waters for the animal as quickly as possible.
In addition to two live animals, six dead hooded seals washed ashore at the end of the summer of 1966: two in the Netherlands, two in Germany, one in France and one in Belgium. One of these animals had a green spot of paint on its back. According to a news release from the seal sanctuary in Pieterburen, the green paint was evidence that the seal was meant for a hunting party on the island of Jan Mayen. In the spring of 1996, 2600 young hooded and harp seals were killed for 'scientific purposes'.
Beaching of hooded seals along the Dutch coast
| date | place and details |
| 30 July 1981 | Rilland-Bath, male, 200 kilograms! (adult) |
| 9 June 1982 | Ouwerkerk, female |
| 20 October 1988 | Cadzand, male, 120 kilograms! (adult) |
| 5 September 1990 | Vlieland, male |
| 31 August 1996 | Oudeschild, Texel, male |
| 14 September 1996 | Ferwerd, female |
| 29 September 1996 | Scheveningen, female |
| 5 October 1996 | Vlieland, male |
| 18 September 1997 | Den Helder, female |
| early June 1998 | Waddengebied, newly born male |
| 24 August 1998 | Den Helder, young male |
| autumn 1998 | origin unknown, young female |
| 6 June 1998 | Vlieland |
| 1998 | Terschelling, young animal |
| 2004 | IJssel, near Rheden, young animal |
(unless otherwise stated, beachings are of 0, 1 or 2 year old animals)
from various sources, including van Bree, 1996 and reports from seal sanctuary Pieterburen |
Weblink
More information about hooded seals:
http://www.pinnipeds.org/species/hooded.htm.
Names:
Dut: klapmuts
Eng: hooded seal
Fren: Phoque O capuchon
Ger: Klappmütze
Lat: Cystophora cristata
Dan: Klapmydsen
Nor: Klapmyss
