We just returned from a vacation with Nicole’s family in Chatham, Massachusetts. My brothers-in-law and I went swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, and it was a blast. Apart from the Polar Bear Club feel (the water temperature was a chilly 65 degrees), a highlight of our trip to the beach was the nearby Grey Seals.

There were about a dozen of them floating around less than 50 feet off shore. They looked exactly like this picture! We wanted to swim out to them, but we weren’t sure what they would do to us. My brother-in-law Mike issued this ominous warning: “Those things can take a chunk out of your face.”

I love to take the opportunity while on vacation to learn about local history and nature. There is always something fascinating to discover. Here are some interesting facts about Grey Seals that I picked up from Wikipedia:

• The Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) is native to the North Atlantic and is the largest native mammal to the British Isles. They can be found year-round off the New England coast and occasionally make it as far south as Virginia.
• Seals are called “pinnipeds,” meaning: “fin-footed.”
• When they make it up onto land, they scoot around by their fins. This method of locomotion is called “galumphing.” I am not making this up.
• Seals can, if you’re not careful, take a chunk out of your face. (That was Mike, not Wikipedia.)

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