Harp Seal

The harp seal is a medium-sized seal found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, named for the dark, harp-shaped or horseshoe-shaped marking often present on the backs of adults, which contrasts with their generally silvery-grey coat. Harp seal pups are born with a coat of soft white fur, historically the target of a controversial commercial hunt, before molting into their adult coloring within a few weeks. The species is highly migratory, breeding on pack ice in large aggregations and traveling long distances between breeding, molting and feeding grounds, where it dives to feed on fish and crustaceans. Harp seals remain numerous and are classified as being of least concern, though their reliance on stable sea ice for pupping makes them sensitive to changing ice conditions.