Notes MARINE MAMMAL SCIENCE, 9(4):42 1424 (October 1993) @ 1993 by the Society for Marine Mammalogy CANNABALISM BY GREY SEALS, HALICHOERUS GRYPUS, ON AMET ISLAND, NOVA SCOTIA Cannibalism of pups has never been reported among pinnipeds despite the fact that intensive behavioral studies have been conducted during the last few decades on a wide variety of species. This note reports the first observed cases of cannibalism in grey seals, Halichoerus grypus. The incidents described below were documented during a study of the breeding behavior of grey seals, conducted in January and February 1992 on Amet Island (45”50’N, 63”lO’W) in the Northumberland Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence. At approximately 1300 h, on 7 January, a large adult male grey seal, located in shallow water about 3 m from the shore, was seen holding a pup in his mouth. The pup was dead at the beginning of the observations but was virtually intact until the male commenced consuming chunks of the pup’s body, which he tore off the carcass using a biting-shaking action. The male was easily identifiable by a white scar on his right side. Three hours after the initial observation, the carcass of the dead pup was retrieved. The pup was identified by a numbered jumbo roto-tag that had been previously placed through the webbing of a hind flipper. It was a male that had been in good health during the weighing session that morning. The pup weighed 41 kg and had just been weaned earlier the same day. Examination of the carcass indicated that the muscle and fat between the neck and the hind flippers had been removed leaving only the spine and ribs visible (Fig. 1). Three days later, on 10 January, the carcass of another newly weaned pup was found in the same area. The condition of the remains suggested this pup had been consumed in a manner similar to the first pup. This second pup, also a male, had been alive during the morning survey of the island. It weighed 45 kg when last measured, three days before its death. On 12 January, yet another newly weaned pup, that had been in good condition the day before, disappeared from the same beach. Most weaned pups remain for several weeks and molt prior to their first entry to the water or their departure from Amet Island. The male that consumed the first pup was observed sporadically over the entire period in the water just off the beach where the pups were killed or had disappeared. All of the pups had been located on the east side of Amet Island, less than 10 m from each other. Only two other mother- 421