📷 Masae · CC BY-SA 3.0
📷 Matthieu Godbout
📷 Kim Hansen
IUCN: Least Concern
Harp Seal
Pagophilus groenlandicus
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderCarnivora›FamilyPhocidae›GenusPagophilus
About
Harp seals are born on pack ice in fluffy white coats that camouflage them for the first two weeks, then moult to silver with a black harp-shaped saddle. They are superb divers, feeding on small schooling fish and krill, and they migrate with the ice edge each season. Warming winters with poor ice have caused years of mass pup mortality in the northwest Atlantic, and hunting remains controversial in Canada.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Arctic and North Atlantic pack ice and coastal waters
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, krill, and other crustaceans
📏Size & Weight Body 1.7–2 m
•weight 120–140 kg
⏳Lifespan Over 30 years
🗺Range North Atlantic and Arctic: Canada, Greenland, the Barents and White Seas, and the Baltic
MammalMarine
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Arctic and North Atlantic pack ice and coastal waters
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, krill, and other crustaceans
📏Size & Weight Body 1.7–2 m
•weight 120–140 kg
⏳Lifespan Over 30 years
🗺Range North Atlantic and Arctic: Canada, Greenland, the Barents and White Seas, and the Baltic
Photo Credits
#1Masae · CC BY-SA 3.0
#2Matthieu Godbout · CC BY-SA 3.0
#3Kim Hansen · CC BY-SA 3.0
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