The spotted seal is the most common seal in Denmark. You can see it at the Wadden Sea on the West coast of Jutland, in the Skagerrak, Limfjorden and the Kattegat, in the Øresund Strait and the Baltic Sea. Last time the seals were counted was in 2005, and the count came up to 12,000 spotted seals in the Danish waters.

The grey seal however, in contrast to the spotted seal, is very rare in Denmark and at the last count in 2005; there were only about 50 of them. But there are signs that it is on its way back, because during winter 2007, grey baby seals were spotted in the Wadden Sea.

The few grey seals usually live near Rødsand on the island of Falster, but it is also possible to see grey seals on the islands of Anholt and Læsø in the Kattegat and on Saltholm in the Øresund Strait.

Both the spotted seal and the grey seal are fairly large animals and therefore easy to spot. The spotted seal can get up to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 75 kilos and the grey seal is larger. The male, which is approximately 1½ times bigger than the female, can get up to 2 meters long and weigh up to 300 kilos! - So it is not a small amount of fish, octopi and crustacean these fellows eat.

Seals are very shy animals and you must be very careful and considerate not to disturb them in their habitats and breeding territories.

Rødsand seal reserve to the west of Gedser on the island of Falster is the most important habitat and breeding territory for spotted seals in all of the Baltic Sea. Access is denied during the breeding period, i.e. from 1 March until 30 September.

The island of Anholt in the Kattegat is one of the largest and most important habitats and breeding territories of the spotted seal in Europe. There is also a small population of grey seals on Anholt. Therefore, there is no access to the seal reserve Totten throughout the year, but it is still possible to see the seals from land and still at a fairly close distance.

You can see porpoises along all the Danish coasts - apart from on the island of Bornholm You can easily see them because the porpoise has a very characteristic small triangular dorsal fin which is visible in quick movements when they hunt herring to the surface. And they often swim in small groups of 2-5 animals, they do however, also often swim alone.

You can spot porpoises both in the Great Belt and the Little Belt, in the Skagerrak, the Kattegat and the North Sea, however, rarely in the Øresund Strait. Even though the porpoises are one of the smallest whales, they can grow up to 180 centimetres long and weigh up to 60-70 kilos. Unfortunately, it is not rare that they are caught in the fishermen's nets and then you can study them close up in the harbour.

On the island of Rømø on the western coast of Jutland, there are seal and porpoise safaris where they sail out to localities offering good chances to experience both seals and porpoises. Ask at the local tourist office the same, by the way, also applies to other places in the country.

In the sealariums throughout Denmark, you can get really close to seals and porpoises and study the elegant swimmers under water. This is the case in Esbjerg (www.fimus.dk), Hirtshals (www.nordsoemuseet.dk), Kerteminde (www.fjord-baelt.dk) and Grenaa (www.kattegatcentret.com).

The Danish National Environment Research Institute works with monitoring and research of sea mammals, including seals and porpoises in Denmark. Read more on www.dmu.dk.