Grey Seals
Known for their distinctive elongated heads, grey seals are commonly seen around Inis Mór. They are often observed basking on rocks and can be curious about human visitors.
Common Seals
Smaller and with more rounded heads compared to grey seals, common seals are also present. They tend to frequent sheltered bays and inlets.
Guillemots can be found nesting on the Inis Mór cliff ledges; guillemots are often seen in large colonies.
Uria aalge
Guillemots
Northern gannets forage for food during the day, generally by diving at high speed into the sea. They search for food both near to their nesting sites but also further out to sea.
Morus bassanus
Gannets
Similar to guillemots but with distinctive black and white plumage and a thick, dark beak, razorbills also nest on the cliffs.
Alca torda
Razorbills
Bottlenose Dolphins
Tursiops truncatus
Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): These intelligent and social creatures are occasionally spotted off the coast of Inis Mór. They are known for their playful behaviour, often riding the bow waves of boats.
Basking Sharks
Cetorhinus maximus
The basking shark is one of the largest animals in the sea. At lengths of up to 10 meters, the basking shark is the second biggest fish of all (only the whale shark is bigger).
Despite its enormous size, the basking shark is a gentle giant and poses no danger to humans. Instead of eating meat, the basking shark is a peaceful filter feeder and is only interested in plankton. They can be seen cruising right at the surface of the water when they are hungry and don’t seem to be bothered by people in boats. They will often swim within yards of boats but never directly collide with them, making them easy for tourists to take photos of.