Harp seal: photos and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

The harp seal is an amazing animal. We will talk about its features, habits, habitats in this article. In another way, this mammal is also called the bald head.

Where does this beast live?

The habitat of this representative of the fauna is quite extensive, it is common in Arctic waters. The harp seal is found in the Arctic Ocean, in the White Sea, on the coast of the Labrador Peninsula and the island of Newfoundland. A representative of this species can be found north of Jan Mayen Island. Outside the mating season, animals also occupy other territorial spaces, for example, in the Barents and Kara Seas. Also, this species can be found even in the Atlantic corners of Canada and Greenland.

Features

The harp seal is the most numerous species of the family called "true seals". Despite its wide diversity, the coot is very easy to distinguish from other representatives of the "real seals".

The first and most important thing to note is the specific and unique color that this Arctic inhabitant has. At birth, harp seal pups have a greenish coat color. After a few days, the color of the baby's coat and its very structurechanges. It becomes hollow and transparent. The sun's rays through such hollow villi easily fall on the black body and warm the skin. In the harp seal habitat, this is more than ever.

When a baby grows up, becomes independent and refuses milk, he shows all the features that a harp seal has, the photo clearly shows the main distinguishing feature - these are pronounced stripes on both sides of the back. In males, it is more pronounced than in females of this species. The shape of the stripes resembles a crescent, the color is dark brown. Moreover, the color of the seal's coat is gray. The strips join at the sacrum in the upper back. By the way, the head also has a color different from the main shade - brown, this is another distinctive feature of such an animal as the harp seal, the photo of which you see in our article.

Sizes

The second thing I would like to note is the rather large size of such a northern representative. The length of the harp seal is at least 180 centimeters, the optimal size is from 180 to 185 cm. Of course, there are both larger individuals up to 190 cm and relatively small ones - 160 centimeters.

In many representatives of the animal world, there are sharp differences in the size of males and females. In the case of the species under consideration, there is practically no difference. The females of this seal may not be much smaller than the males. The weight of these animals ranges from 140 to 160 kilograms.

A large share in the formation of body weight is a significantfatty layer. A thick layer of fat is a kind of guarantee of he alth. It allows you to withstand unbearably low temperatures, which are not uncommon for Arctic waters. In addition, fat gives the most perfect streamlining of the body of these animals. And this fact directly proportionally affects the speed of movement of the animal in the water and other parameters in swimming.

How does the harp seal migrate?

The type of migration of this kind we will consider further. Now let's note the fact that the harp seal is almost always in the process of migration, it constantly moves along the edge of the Arctic ice. In a static - relatively immobile position - it is only under one of three conditions: in the process of mating, during the birth of cubs, and also during molting.

Migration of such animals is associated with migration from the open sea to stationary rookeries. The females of this representative of the fauna swim in the Arctic waters almost until the very moment of the birth of the babies. The harp seal gives birth literally in the first days of March. The place for procreation should be spacious, durable and with a thick snow cover.

After giving birth, the females gather in special flocks, similar to the "crèche", only they are huge in size. The most scientific name is whelping haulouts. It is in such conditions that the harp seal appears, we will tell you interesting facts about this animal a little later. So, the first week of life, the female lies with the cub, later, after7-10 days, she begins to go to the open sea and spends most of her time in the water, she comes out on the ice only for milk feeding.

Interesting facts

First - twins are born very rarely, mostly one cub is born. Its dimensions are as follows: length - 1 meter, weight - about 8 kilograms. After birth, a baby harp seal gains about 2 kilograms per day. Essential nutrients are passed on through mother's milk, which is high in fat and contributes to rapid weight gain.

Another interesting fact is connected with the moulting of the bald head. The molting of this harmless animal is a rather long and painful process that occurs at the end of March. In addition to the hairline, the skin itself is also updated. During molting, the animal loses a lot of weight, because it practically does not eat. Upon completion of this action and with the resumption of an active lifestyle, weight is quickly restored.

Important to know

The harp seal is an amazing animal, harmless, which preys only on fish found in its habitats. The inhabitants of the arctic cold waters have practically no enemies, the main mammals that pose a danger are polar bears and killer whales. But for the former, it is quite difficult to catch a seal on ice floes because of its maneuverability. Orcas rarely pose a danger to these animals because of their habitat. Usually, when killer whales come into the waters, the seals are already migrating to a safer place.

The main danger for such animals is man - this is unconditional and undoubtedly. Humans cause damage to the harp seal population both directly and indirectly. Such animals are exterminated directly for the valuable fat. But this fishery is limited by quotas that allow the population to be preserved. Much worse is the overfishing. After all, it is she who is the main diet for bald heads, by the way, and not only for them.

Now you know who the harp seal is, what it eats and where it lives. In addition, we told you some interesting facts.