The harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) has recovered in numbers from the distemper plague of the 1980s that led to severe depletion of the species.
There are now about 55,000 living around the UK shores – about 50% of the EU population. Harbour seals are also called common seals but that is a misnomer since there are about 120,000 of their larger cousins, grey seals, around our coasts.
