Latin name:
Phocinae- Phocini- Phoca- P. groenlandica
Description:
Adult harp seals are quite small (1.8 to 1.9 m in length and 120 to 135 kg in weight). They have elongated, broad heads with a pointed muzzle. Their main colour is a silvery white and they have wide, black stripes along their sides, which join up above the shoulders. The species thanks its name to the harp-shaped marking on its back. It has an entirely black head, sometimes with spotted markings.
Pups:
Pups are born from February to mid March on the pack ice. Harp seal pups can be recognised by their woolly, white fur.
Status:
In the eighties, animal rights activists started marking the young seals with paint, to stop them being clubbed to death by hunters, as was the fate of thousands of baby seals each year. After twelve days, the woolly white fur becomes grey. The pups start to moult when they are three weeks old. Harp seals have always been hunted: Since the 18th century for seal-liver-oil and fur. They are still being hunted now, but under government supervision.
Range:
