Grey Seal

Photo: Áki Vang · CC BY-NC

Grey seals breed and pup in the Gjógv gorge above the waterline and are supremely at ease in the underwater sections of the cave, frequently approaching divers within arm's reach to investigate equipment, exhaled bubbles, and faces. The Faroe Islands host one of Europe's most significant grey seal populations, with animals that have learned over generations that the gorge is safe from human disturbance. Juveniles are particularly interactive and will sometimes grasp a diver's fin or camera housing with their foreflippers, behaviour that makes Gjógv one of the most reliably intimate seal encounter sites in the world.