Reproduction

How does the harp seal produce its young?

Pairs will perform their courtship on the land and then mate while at sea. Males and females may mate with multiple partners during the breeding season.

Males will fight one another during the breeding season by biting and beating one another. The winner becomes dominant in his territory and will have mating rights with the females.

Young will be born from February to March. During pupping season they will gather in large numbers on ice floes to give birth. At birth the young have yellow fur which will whiten as they grow. Their yellow coat has led to the pups being nicknamed 'yellowcoat.' This thick fur helps to keep them warm on ice.

The white coat also serves as camouflage helping to stop detection of the pups by predators.

At birth the pups have no blubber and rely on their mother's attention to keep them safe. Her milk is half fat causing them to quickly gain weight.

A single pup is produced each year. Mother's only nurse their pups for 12 days. Following this they still cannot feed themselves and rely on fat reserves they have built up. During this time they can lose up to 50% of their body weight.

On their return the mother can notice her pup by its scent and will reject any other pup which approaches her.

The average mortality rate within the first year of life is 20-30%.

Sexual maturity is reached at five years old.

Behavior

What does the harp seal do with its day?

The harp seal will migrate with the movements in the pack ice so that they remain close to their food source.

While searching for food they will dive to depths of up to 200m (666ft). They may remain underwater for up to 16 minutes before needing to surface for a breath.

Outside of the breeding season these animals spend almost all of their time in the water.

On land these animals move in a caterpillar like motion.

Every spring the adults will molt their fur. This follows the breeding season and at the end of this they will return to the seas to feed.

Credit: Virginia State Parks staff, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Predators and Threats

What is impacting the survival of the harp seal?

Juveniles face predation from polar bears, walruses, wolves and Arctic foxes. Adults mainly face predation in the sea from orcas and large sharks.

Populations of the harp seal have been increasing following a significant decline due to hunting. They have now been restored to being the most common species of pinniped in North America.

The total mature population is estimated at 4.5 million individuals.

These animals have been subject to hunting for thousands of years but it reached highs in recent decades which caused sharp declines. Following this being realized and the population offered protection it has begun to increase.

They are also subject to bycatch as parts of fisheries. Fisheries impact them through the removal of their food source. Declines in krill numbers have been linked to a decline in pup survival.

Other threats include oil spills, disease and climate change.

Quick facts

Their name is taken from the dark, harp-like marking which is seen on the back of adults.

These animals may also be known as the saddleback seal.

Their scientific name, Pagophilus groenlandicus, roughly translates as "ice-lover from Greenland"