A RARE grey seal is becoming a regular sighting just off Shoebury’s shores.

Grey seals are the largest breeding seals found in the UK, but sightings are still rare with the majority staying further out to sea – and out of sight.

But one young pup has been making herself at home off the seawall at Essex Wildlife Trust Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges, and was spotted near Gogs Berth and heading towards Shoebury Common last week.

The female seal has been spotted a handful of times over the last three weeks or so, and is becoming a regular off the seawall.

Emily McParland, communications officer for Essex Wildlife Trust, said: “It’s wonderful that numerous people have witnessed the grey seal popping up around our Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges nature reserve over the past few weeks.

“Grey seals aren’t common in the area as their small colonies in Essex are predominately offshore – so it’s fantastic that this individual is returning and allowing people an up-close glimpse.”

The Trust is working under the assumption that the grey seal is part of a young family, due to her size and the fact that it is currently mating season.

Andrew Impey, chief executive at Essex Wildlife Trust Gunners Park and Shoebury Ranges, said: “We have noticed her quite regularly during high tide.

“They are quite rare, so it is good to see her.

“We first noticed her a couple of weeks ago, and she’s been returning quite regularly so she must be happy there.”

Found mostly around the north of the British Isles, grey seals are also distributed throughout Scandinavian and northern European waters with other populations in North America and an isolated population is present in the Baltic Sea.

Males can grow to be 10 feet long and 800lbs, while females can exceed six foot in length and weigh up to 300 pounds.

Although not quite as regular of a sighting as the common seal, there are a few key differences which allow you to tell the difference.

The grey seal is a species which grows to much larger sizes than the common seal, with males being substantially larger than females.

The main difference between the two species is that the grey seal has a much longer snout than the common seal, and the nostrils of the grey seal are spaced much further apart, while they are close together with common seals.

There are currently estimated to be about 130,000 to 140,000 grey seals in the eastern Atlantic population, spread across the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as on the coasts of the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and northwestern Russia as far as the White Sea.