Harbor Seals

Seals, what they are, and harbor seals

Seals, what are they?

Seals are a semi-aquatic species, also commonly referred to as pinnipeds. There are three general categories of seals, classified as Phocidae, consisting of the true seals, Otariidae, consisting of fur seals and sea lions, and Odobenidae, which currently includes only walruses. They are easily recognized from their finned feet and distinct build, allowing them to thrive in the sea. 

To reach they full and round build, seal mama's put they pups throught what we call "weaning" (wean), where for the first four to six weeks they're only fed with fat rich milk! This milk is so fat a seal pup can go from 25kg (2lb) to 50-60kg (110-132lb) in just 4 days.

Harbor Seals

he harbor seal, also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere.

The global population of harbor seals is 350,000–500,000, but the freshwater subspecies Ungava seal in Northern Quebec is endangered. Once a common practice, sealing (the hunt and clubbing of seals) is now illegal in many nations within the animal's range. Harbor seals prefer to frequent familiar resting sites. They may spend several days at sea and travel up to 50 km in search of feeding grounds

Harbor seals are solitary, but are gregarious when hauled out and during the breeding season, though they do not form groups as large as some other seals. When not actively feeding, they haul to rest. They tend to be coastal, not venturing more than 20 km offshore. The mating system is not known, but thought to be polygamous. 

Females give birth once per year, with a gestation period around nine months. Females have a mean age at sexual maturity of 3.72 years and a mean age at first parturition of 4.64. Both courtship and mating occur under water. Researchers have found males gather under water, turn on their backs, put their heads together, and call to attract females ready for breeding. Pregnancy rate of females was 92% from age 3 to age 36, with lowered reproductive success after the age of 25 years

Birthing of pups occurs annually on shore. The timing of the pupping season varies with location, occurring in February for populations in lower latitudes, and as late as July in the subarctic zone. The mothers are the sole providers of care, with lactation lasting 24 days!

As for life spans, females live longer than male harbor seals. The former may live for 30-35 years, while the latter only lives for 20-25 years. They're predators are killer whales (orcas), white sharks and polar bears, and sometimes coyotes and similar when on land

Fun Facts

Famous Harbor Seal

[ Hoover 1971-1985]

Hoover was a harbor seal who could imitate basic human speach!!

He was rescued as a pup by Scottie Dunning after being abandoned by his mother, and kept as almost a family dog. The correct procedure would be to lead the pup to a recovery center for marine animals but it was the 70s so the average person would sneakily keep a seal (can't blame them me too).

He was kept on the property of the man brother in law, George Swallow, where he built a hut near a pond. The seal learnt its owner speech patterns and mimic a few phrases. Bothe Hoover and George were very attached, but with time hoover guardians couldn't keep up with taking care of his food intake so they reluctantly sent him to an acquarium, where he sadly passed away during a difficult fur molting.

Check out Hoover speaking here on Wikipedia !! :)

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source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_seal

source: https://www.animalspot.net/harbor-seal.html

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_(seal)