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- Dictionaryhar·bor seal/ˈhärbər sē(ə)l/
noun
- 1. a seal with a mottled gray-brown coat and a concave profile, found along North Atlantic and North Pacific coasts. North American
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The harbor (or harbour) seal (Phoca vitulina), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared seals, and true seals), they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic ...
The Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) is a true seal that lives along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere.It is the most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared seals, and true seals).
- Entanglement
- Illegal Feeding and Harassment
- Habitat Degradation
- Chemical Contaminants
- Vessel Collisions
Harbor seals can become entangled in fishing gear and other types of marine debris, either swimming off with the gear attached or becoming anchored. They can become entangled in many different fishing gear types, including gillnets, trawls, purse seines, or weirs. Once entangled, seals may drown if they cannot reach the surface to breathe, or they ...
Illegal feeding of harbor seals can lead to many problems including habituation, aggression, negative impacts to fisheries, entanglement, injury, and death. Harassment, including repeated exposure to vessel traffic and other disturbance, can degrade important nursery, molting, and haul out areas for harbor seals. Increased vessel traffic can also c...
Harbor seals are susceptible to habitat loss and degradation. Physical barriers, which may include shoreline and offshore structures for development (e.g., for oil and gas, dredging, pile driving), can limit access to important migration, breeding, feeding, molting, or pupping areas. Oil and gas development, commercial and recreational development ...
Contaminants enter ocean waters from many sources, including oil and gas development, wastewater discharges, agricultural and urban runoff, and other industrial processes. Once in the environment, these substances move up the food chain and accumulate in top predators such as harbor seals. These chemicals do not degrade. Harbor seals accumulate con...
Inadvertent vessel collisions can injure or kill harbor seals. Harbor seals are vulnerable to vessel collisions throughout their range, but the risk is much higher in some coastal areas with heavy vessel traffic.
- Mammalia
- Chordata
- Carnivora
Behavior. They are usually solitary but do congregate during the pupping and molting season. They do not exhibit any social structure during this time. Harbor seals are diurnal. They like to spend their resting periods usually in areas familiar to them. These sites are usually within 20 miles from the shore.
- Mammalia
- Chordata
- Carnivora
Life cycle. Female harbour seals have a lifespan of 30 to 35 years, while males have a lifespan of 20 to 25 years. Both can reach a length of 1.85 metres as adults and weigh about 110 kg. Pups are born annually on shore. Pupping season varies by location, occurring in February in lower latitudes, and as late as July in the subarctic zone.
May 16, 2019 · A harbor seal rests on sea ice off the Canadian coast. The harbor seal is the most widespread of all pinnipeds. The species occurs in coastal waters throughout the temperate and polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including coastal regions of the northern Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea.
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Physical Description. Harbor seal coloration can vary greatly from white or light gray with dark spots to dark brownish black with light spots, depending on where in their range they are found. Like other pinnipeds, harbor seals are adapted to dive and conserve oxygen underwater. They can generally dive to depths of about 500 feet (152 meters ...
