Learn About the Graceful Harp Seals and the Threats to Their Well-being

by Dilma Attidekou, age 8

The harp seal received its name from the black patch on its back, which resembles the harp instrument.

The harp seals live in the North Atlantic, varying in physical appearance, but also sharing similar features overall. Generally, they range from five to six feet long and weigh between 260 and 300 pounds. They have a slim snout and a tiny, flat head. When harp seals are born, they weigh about 25 pounds, are about three feet long, and sip on high-fat milk for roughly 12 days. They peak at 80 pounds, and after reaching that weight, their mom leaves them. The pups stay on the ice alone and without food for six weeks. They can lose up to half their weight before eating by themselves in the wild.

Harp seals love to eat. Their diet consists of more than 130 different species of fish. Harp seals may get injured or die from contaminated water such as oil spills, gas development, wastewater discharges, urban runoff, and other industrial processes. In Canada, they have been hunted for oil and meat since the 1600s. Now there is a limit on how many can be hunted per year to ensure they do not go extinct.

[Source: Fish Cries. Noaa.gov]