In February 2026, a mutilated dolphin carcass washed up on the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, England. The deceased was a female true dolphin, also called a common dolphin, with a body length of more than 1.8 meters. When she was found, she was severely injured and her chest and abdomen were eaten in a circle. To describe it in the words of the discoverer: it was "stripped" by the attackers until only its internal organs and bones were left.
Such a horrific scene attracted the attention of animal experts. They carefully examined the dolphin carcass and compared the bite marks. They found that the spiral scars on its body may have been caused by gray seals.
This suspicion was quickly confirmed by other witnesses. In January this year, someone witnessed a seal preying on a real dolphin and took several photos.
Last year, a gray seal was also seen killing a real dolphin off the Irish coast.
Earlier, gray seals were also found attacking another species of dolphin, the harbor porpoise.
As similar sightings continue to come to light, it is confirmed that seals preying on dolphins is not an occasional incident and occurs more often than we thought, which worries local wildlife experts and residents.
Many people may ask: Is it strange that seals prey on dolphins?
If we look at physical conditions alone, gray seals have great advantages in hunting real dolphins.
Gray seals are huge and weigh astonishingly. Males can reach more than 3 meters in length and weigh more than 300 kilograms. True dolphins are smaller among dolphins, with a body length of 1.8-2.6 meters and a weight of hundreds of kilograms. They are much smaller than gray seals;
Moreover, gray seals have sharp teeth and a lot of oral bacteria. When they conflict with humans, even a slight bite can have disastrous consequences.
In fact, the blame for this incident is that gray seals suddenly broke traditional food taboos.
It mainly feeds on fish, and occasionally eats invertebrates such as octopus and lobster, but no matter what kind of food it is, it is not large.
They have been eating small fish for so many years, and now they suddenly start eating much larger mammals and dolphins. Their food habits have changed drastically, and they tend to become more and more frequent. This is obviously abnormal.
Another interesting point is that the main natural enemy of gray seals is killer whales.
Killer whales are the largest dolphins, and they are the same kind as real dolphins. Dolphins have relatively high IQs and swim fast. Nowadays, gray seals "kill natural enemies of their own kind", which also seems to be very strange behavior.
Killer whale preying on seal
First spotted eating real dolphins
In the past, people have also observed gray seals occasionally preying on young porpoises. Porpoises are much smaller than real dolphins. Now, this is the first time that a gray seal has attacked a real dolphin.
The real dolphin, which was "circumscribed" at the beginning, is the first to be discovered in Welsh waters.
Currently, it is unclear why this behavior occurs.
Marine animal experts speculate that this behavior may be unique to a small group of gray seals in a specific area. Currently, all those found to do this are adult males, and it should be learned and imitated.
Gray seals suddenly broke with tradition and started attacking dolphins, possibly by accident.
Gray seals themselves are known to be cannibalistic and have a rather "ruthless" style. In the UK, its habitat overlaps with that of the dolphin, and both species are plentiful (this is thought to be one of the reasons for the conflict).
Perhaps out of a desire for whale blubber, one day, a seal accidentally killed a dolphin, and suddenly thought: Since it is dead, let me taste the dolphin meat.
It tasted good at first, but then it got out of hand. After that, it tried to prey on dolphins every chance it got.
During the non-breeding period, several male gray seals occasionally gather together to move or forage. Then, this behavior is learned by other male seals, and eventually, individual hobbies develop into small group skills.
(This skill has not spread widely and is not yet popular, which also means that those who can master this skill are limited to a few specific individuals).
Some experts estimate that there are 20 gray seals mastering this skill near the British Isles, based on facial features and bite marks in sightings.
As for how the seal defeats the smart and fast dolphin, experts believe it relies on ambush - the gray seal suddenly attacks from below the dolphin, catching the dolphin by surprise.
But some people believe that the seals were able to succeed because the dolphins that were attacked were likely to have health problems of their own, or were lone individuals.
at last
Due to the limited cases that can be studied, this phenomenon has not yet been completely determined. The cause and the consequences of allowing it to develop are still unclear, but the "panic" has already been caused.
People who often swim in the sea feel worried about this:
The bold gray seals first tested the waters with harbor porpoises, and now with larger real dolphins. It feels like this animal is gradually expanding its diet.
Then, will humans be the next target?