Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) lives in arctic ice across North Atlantic Ocean. It feeds on fish and crustaceans. Its conservation status is Near Threatened.
Fascinating facts about the Harp Seal
- Harp seals can plunge deeper than a skyscraper's shadow, diving past 500 m (1,600 ft) and staying underwater for up to 20 minutes. In the Greenland Sea sub-population, they average 8.3 dives per hour, with depths ranging from under 20 m to over 500 m, and dive durations from less than two minutes to just over 20 minutes. In late fall and winter, mean dive depth spikes to 141 m (463 ft) in the Denmark Strait.
- A newborn harp seal pup triples its weight in just 12 days, gaining over 2.2 kg (4.9 lb) each day while its mother fasts. Newborns start at an average 11 kg (24 lb) and end the nursing period at about 36 kg (79 lb). During this time the mother loses up to 3 kg (6.6 lb) per day because she does not hunt. This rapid fat build-up fuels the pup's first weeks on ice, where it must survive without its mother's protection.
- Around 4.5 million harp seals roam the Arctic, but only about three-quarters of a million pups are born each year. pup production estimates total 746,500 (95 % CI, 570,300-922,700), with 714,600 (95 % CI, 538,800-890,400) from the Newfoundland Front, 18,300 (95 % CI, 15,400-21,200) from the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and 13,600 (95 % CI, 7,700-19,500) from the northern Gulf. These figures show how a single breeding season fuels the next generation of a species that can live over 30 years.
- Rising temperatures are stealing the ice platforms harp seal pups need to survive. Ice cover in breeding regions has dropped up to 6 % per decade since 1979, and a PLoS ONE study found pup strandings rise sharply as ice shrinks. Genetic analysis of 106 stranded pups showed no fitness difference from healthy captured seals, confirming that loss of stable ice, not weak genetics, is killing the young.
- Harp seals with the northwest population regularly moving up to 4,000 km (2,500 mi) northeast outside breeding season, and one individual recorded 4,640 km (2,880 mi) east-northeast of its tagging site.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeNorth Atlantic Ocean
HabitatArctic ice
DietFish and crustaceans
About the Harp Seal
As the Arctic ice floes stretch out like a frozen canvas, the harp seal emerges, its silvery coat glistening in the pale light of the polar sun. With a fluid motion, it slips through the icy waters, its flippers propelling it with effortless ease, as it navigates the ever-changing landscape of its frozen world. In this unforgiving yet majestic environment, the harp seal reigns, its adaptability and resilience a testament to the enduring power of life in the harshest of conditions.
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