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Harbor seal - PHOCA VITULINA
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Seal": "Seal" comes from the Old English word "seolh," for the animal.
Location: Along all coasts in the Northern Hemisphere.
Habitat: Coastal waters, especially where there are sand-banks.
Description: The coat is light gray with scattered black and white markings, which are more numerous on the back. The front flippers have sharp, but weak claws. There are no external ears, the eyes are large, and the hind flippers do not bend forward, which makes this a true seal. Total length up to six and a half feet, and weight to 330 pounds, female only slightly smaller than tha male.
Behavior: The harbor seal feeds mainly on fish and shellfish, usually the most plentiful species in a given area. As a result it is often hunted by fishermen. Special hunts are organized to protect migrating salmon.
Reproduction: A single pup is born on dry land in April or May in the southern part of the range, and after May farther north. Mating may take place in the sea immediately after the female gives birth. Gestation lasts for about ten months, which includes two to three months of delayed implantation. At birth the single pup is about 40 inches long and weighs about 33 pounds. It nurses for about two months, but stays with its mother beyond that time.
Note: The five subspecies of the harbor seal have different reproductive periods and the pups' coats are of different colors. Their greatest enemies, apart from man, are killer whales and polar bears.
Go to the Carnivora Page to learn more about the all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Seal Index to study other
seals.
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