THEY might not have the fingers to use a phone, but seals swimming in the Solent are to join the text message revolution.

A colony of five harbour seals have been tagged with mobiles to help scientists unlock the secret life of the mysterious mammal.

Transmitters will send regular texts back to researchers on where they are roaming in the Solent, how much time they spend in the water and how deep they dive.

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Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) researchers placed the electronic tags on the seals as part of a two year £70,000 research project.

With help from the Sea Mammal Research Unit, they were caught in nets, brought to the shore and given mild sedatives to calm them down as the tags were glued on.

The seals are part of a colony of 16 that inhabit the Solent and have been spotted roaming the north coast of the Isle of Wight, in Southampton Water and as far north as the Itchen River.

Scientists will be able to identify the seal’s foraging and breeding hotspots to help them understand which parts of the coast must be protected to safeguard their future.

The £3,000 phone tags – which are little bigger than a pack of cards – are designed to fall off during the seal’s annual moult in July and August.

HIWWT marine conservation manager Jolyon Chesworth said little is known about the movements of the Solent seal colony.

“We had so little information before that nobody really knew what they did or where they went," he said.

There was theory that they just hung around in the sheltered harbours, but that has already been disproved.

“We have already learnt that they are quite wide-ranging around the harbours in the Solent, including in the Isle of Wight, which we didn’t know previously.

“Over the first few days we have seen that they have ranged from Chichester Harbour, Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth Harbour and across the Solent to the Isle of Wight and as far east as Sussex.”

The Solent colony is the only population of harbour seals in the eastern English Channel.

Nationally, harbour seals are in serious decline, with population numbers falling by more than 50 per cent in recent years.

The seals, also known as common seals, are mottled grey and brown in colour and males can grow to 1.85m long (6ft).

● Anyone who spots or photographs a seal in the Solent is asked to call HIWWT on 01489 774400 or report online at hwt.org.uk.