Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Harp seal pups have white fur. Common Name: Harp Seal. Scientific Name: Pagophilus groenlandicus. Type: Mammals. Photos with Harp Seal. Geography Continents. North America, Europe, Asia. Biome Rock and ice. Intertidal zone. Oceanic pelagic zone. Climate zones Cold. Habits and Lifestyle Harp seals are solitary creatures except during the mating season when tens of thousands congregate together.
Group name. Semiaquatic, Precocial, Predator. Seasonal behavior. Diet and Nutrition Harp seals are carnivorous piscivorous animals, eating fish, including capelin, herring, cod, Arctic cod and halibut, and crabs and other invertebrates.
Diet Carnivore, Piscivores. Population Trend. Least concern LC. Population Population threats Over-exploitation, especially in the northwest Atlantic, along with an unregulated and expanding trade in seal products, is the single largest threat to the Harp seal. Population number According to the IUCN Red List, the global population size of the Harp seal is around 9 million animals, with the following estimates for the three distinct populations of this species: the northwest Atlantic stock - 7.
Fun Facts for Kids Harp seals get their name from the harp-shaped mark on their back. Fossils of harp seals show that they were alive during the mid-Miocene, about 20 million years ago. These seals are very strong high-speed swimmers, moving quickly on ice and diving more than m.
The main method of communication over both short and long distances underwater is calling, which may be used to coordinate herds and to attract mates. They may use trills, clicks and other chirping sounds on land, also to attract a mate or in response to a predator coming too near to a pup. Immediately after giving birth, mother seals smell their newborn, and from that time on will only feed their own pup, as they remember the scent.
References 1. Included in Lists Mammals of Spain. Mammals of Iceland. This species is highly migratory, with individuals following Arctic sea ice as it expands and contracts throughout the year. Harp seals are foraging predators that eat several dozen species of bony fishes and invertebrates. They will eat just about anything they can catch. Juveniles eat krill and other pelagic crustaceans, and the diet diversifies as they grow.
Adult harp seals are eaten by killer whales and large sharks. Juveniles are eaten by polar bears and other terrestrial predators, including foxes and wolves. Courtship among harp seals takes place on the ice surface, but mating typically occurs in the water.
Both males and females may mate with several partners during the mating season. Like all mammals, harp seals reproduce via internal fertilization and give birth to live young. Pups are born on the ice surface and are nursed by their mothers for only 12 days.
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