Marine Mammal Information...

What you can expect to see in Nantucket:

Gray seals - the only seal that breeds in our area. The pups are born right before Martin Luther King's Birthday. They're very vocal, and will let you get close, and then go after you!
• Harbor seals - live here in winter; you'll see them on the rocks. We don't normally see the pups. The adults will run away with their last dying breath!
• Harp seals - rarely seen (saw two last year), if seen, usually in their "beater coat," looking like a dalmatian.
• Hooded seal - temperamental , unpredictable in behavior; may be approachable, may attack; will play dead. Usually see the blueback pup phase here at any time of the year.
• Leatherback turtles - we get some in the fall while they're migrating south. If there's a cold snap, the turtles may get stunned with hypothermia and wash up on the beach. They can die without assistance.
• Right whales - very rare whale - reporting mandatory - however, because they come so close to shore, they're the most frequently seen.
• Humpback, sperm, pygmy sperm, finback, pilot, minke whales - rare. Wash up dead when seen.
• Dolphins (Atlantic white-sided, bottlenose, common, striped) - seen dead usually. Note that markings fade after washed up on shore.