A young, female Harp Seal was found along the Frisian Coast between Zürich and Harlingen this weekend. Harp Seals do not inhabit our waters and they are a rare appearance in the Netherlands. This seal is about five months old and was born in the northern regions this spring. She is believed to have lost her way, thus escaping the Canadian, Norwegian and Russian seal hunters. She is the youngest rehabilitated Harp Seal in the history of the SRRC. Other rehabilitated Harp Seals were a year or older when they came to the SRRC. We have named our temporary guest 'Steina', like our first Icelandic volunteer.
Harp Seals are born in late February or early March in Eastern Canada and on the ice of the White Sea. A little later, between mid March and April, young Harp Seals are also born on Jan Mayen Island in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. When they are born, young Harp Seals have a completely white fur, which moults after two to four weeks. They cannot swim with their white fur, so they stay on the ice with their mother, where they are nursed. The nursing period is the time in which so many seals are killed every year. Young, moulted Harp Seals can have different markings on their fur. ‘Our’ Harp Seal’s fur ranges from a light cream to a brownish colour, with clear spotted markings. It is not until Harp Seals are mature, that they get the black head markings which are so characteristic for the Harp Seal.
Our Harp Seal has been kept in strict quarantine since she arrived at the SRRC. She has suffered severe weight loss and is exhausted after her long journey, but she will soon regain her strength through the fishmeal she is being fed. As soon as she has reached her normal weight, she will be released from quarantine straight into the wild and brought as far into the North Sea as possible. Seals have very good navigation skills, and healthy seals should not have any problems to find their way back to their birthplace. There, our seal should be safe, because animals that have already moulted are worthless to the hunters.
30-08-2006 Source: SRRC
