Physical Description

- The coat of a fully mature male and female harp seal are a combination of white/silver nd black. They have a dark grey head forming a characteristic mask and a series of dark blotches forming the harp shape for which they are named. (As seen in lower right photo.)

- Both males and females average five feet, seven inches in length (169 cm) and 286 pounds (130 kg).

Reproduction

- The age of sexual maturity for harp seals is between four to six years of age for both sexes. Males may take an extra year or two.

- Pups are born between late February and mid March.

- Mating and moulting season takes place between mid-March to late April

Diet

- They dive up to 330 feet (100 m) to retrieve food. Their diet consists of capelin, polar cod, herring, crustaceans, amphipods and shrimp. They also sometimes feed on redfish, palice and Greenland halibut.

Predators

- Predators include polar bears, Greenland sharks, killer whales and man.

Life Span

The mortality rate of a newborn pup to one year of age is between twenty and thirty percent and ten percent annually each year after that. Life expectancy is about 35 years.

Distribution and Migration

There are three main populations of harp seals; 1) along eastern Canada and western Greenland, 2) another along east Greenland, Spitzbergen and Jan Mayen, 3) and another within the White Sea.

- The largest herds are found along northern Newfoundland.

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