Harp seals are sometimes called saddlebacks due to the saddleshaped markings on their backs. Its life span is between 10 and 30 years in the wild. During february and march, over 250,000 harp seals can be found near the magdalen islands. Harp seals are found on or near ice floes from the kara sea of russia west to the gulf of st. Yellow jacket the first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket. Your kindergarten first and second grade students will love learning all about harp seals. A harp seals life revolves around the pack ice, and its spring migration can take it as far as 2,500 kilometres west to summer feeding grounds. Create a beautiful collaborative research poster as you study the life of a harp seal. Harp seal life cycle female harp seals give birth to pups between late february and midmarch. Yellow the first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket. Three months after birth, seal pups are double their birth size.
Although they live in cold water, harp seal pups are born without any protective fat. This slaughter continues for many reasons including the value of the pelts, government propaganda, and pride in this socalled tradition. Harp seals spend most of their time diving and swimming in the icy waters of the north atlantic and arctic oceans. Life cycle of a harp seal by printableprompts teachers. Harp seals are prey for killer whales, sharks and polar bears. Males arrive first to stake out breeding territories, a process that gets violent and involves much fighting between the bulls to prove dominance and control preferred areas close to shore but behind the hightide line. The seals are usually around six to eight years old when they breed, but can be earlier sometimes. In the late 1980s along the coast of norway, harp seal displacements resulted in many seals dying as bycatch in fishing nets winsnes, 2019. After weaning, the pups start to lose their white coats and are known first as raggedjackets and then as beaters.
Learn about seals, including harp seals, hooded seals, harbor seals, grey seals, bearded seals, and ringed seals here. Harp seal facts and pictures national geographic kids. Harp seals are the victims of the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. The earless seals, phocids or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal lineage, pinnipedia. Life cycle of a harp seal by printableprompts teachers pay. South american fur seals arctocephalus australis, new. Harp seals are named for the harpshaped rings on their backs. The harp seals lifecycle is marked by a progression from onice birth to inwater mating and subsequent onice molt. The maximum lifespan of a harp seal is approximately 30 years. The first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket. Mating between harp seals while the courtship between a male and female harp seal usually occurs on land, mating is often done in the water. The first stage of the weddell seal life cycle is when the male and female seal mate.
Experience the first few weeks in the life cycle of harp seal pups and capture precious moments in time. These sleek swimmers cruise the chilly waters and feed on fish and crustaceans. This poster was created to document the phases of development that occur during the life cycle of the harp seal using 3d assets. The harp seal is a true seal that lives in the north atlantic and arctic oceans, spending long periods of time associated with sea ice. In latin, its scientific name translates to icelover from. The pups go without food for about six weeks and can lose about half their body weight until. They are able to remain submerged for up to 15 minutes.
During mating season, females form large colonies on floating ice and give birth. In march 2012, the harp seal pup production was estimated from aerial photographic surveys over the whelping areas. Never straying far from it, the annual harp seal migration is perfectly timed around ice formation. Life cycle of a harp seal life cycle of a harp seal the life cycle of a harp seal has 6 stages. Harp seals have been hunted commercially for over two centuries. In latin, its scientific name translates to icelover from greenland, and. Males and females are similar in size, averaging 1. Before they learn to swim the pups are very vulnerable to polar bears. Harp seals pagophilus groenlandicus have been harvested for centuries in the north atlantic. An extensive migration follows, taking these animals northward to high arctic summering grounds and southward in an autumnal return migration to the breeding grounds. Harp seal harp seals spend relatively little time on land and prefer to swim in the north atlantic and arctic oceans.
Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow are born weighing about 24 lbs. Large herds of fur seals congregate at established breeding grounds annually. A great addition to any science or informational research unit, you can use any book or video in your classroom to learn about seals, and use the included research companion web organizer, kwl chart. Harp seals live in groups of several animals, and typically live 2030 years. A newborn pup is called a yellowjacket because of its tinted yellow fur. The pups dont have any blubber at birth, but quickly gain weight nursing on highfat mothers milk. Pups nurse for about 1012 days, during which time they gain weight rapidly, and do not enter the water. The eared seals found furthest north are the northern fur seal and the steller sea lion. Leopard seal pups learn to swim and are weaned from the floating ice fields at 1 month of age.
That baby harp seals are sometimes found eating snow a bit like the baby seal in the video above. When the pups reach about 80 pounds 36 kilograms, their mothers stop nursing them. Harp seals are attractively patterned pinnipeds that inhabit the chilly waters of the north atlantic and the arctic ocean. They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family otariidae. Seals live in the oceans of both hemispheres and, with the exception of the more. How to describe the life cycle of a harp seal quora. Life cycle of a harp seal this winter, keep your students learning about life cycles with this harp seal life cycle resource. It gets its common name from the markings resembling a wishbone, harp, or saddle that develop on its back in adulthood. Around ages five and six, a female harp seal matures enough to finally bear young.
Mother harp seals can identify their own young in the thousands of a colony by their scent. The harp seal life cycle encompasses pupping on southerly packice, ongoing molts and yearly migrations that may exceed 3,000 miles. Fur seals compose nine species in taxonomic family otariidae. Recoverable seal parts include meat for asian pet food and meat markets, skins for waterproof coats and boots, fur for coats, genitals. Harp seals, pagophilus groenlandicus erxleben, 1777, aka phoca groenlandica, get their common name from the harp shaped pattern on the dorsal upper side and flanks of adult harp seals.
The commercial sealing industry began with the harvest of adult harp seals in newfoundland and labrador during the middle of the 18th century. This winter, keep your students learning about life cycles with this harp seal life cycle resource. Females of reproductive age birth one pup per year on stable ice in late february or march. Harp seals, pagophilus groenlandicus erxleben, 1777, aka phoca groenlandica, get their common name from the harpshaped pattern on the dorsal upper side and flanks of adult harp seals. Harp seals marinebio video library nat geo harp seal wallpaper. The maximum life span for the harp seal is 35 years. In mating season the seals vocal noises are extremely load. Harp seals gather in large groups of up to several thousand to molt and breed. The harp seal also known a saddleback seal or greenland seal, pagophilus groenlandicus is a species of earless seal, or true seal, native to the northernmost atlantic ocean and arctic ocean. Skylah and katherine born in the spring on ice packs, harp seal pups go through 6 life stages. Harp seal development manifests via changes to the color and length of the animals coats, requiring naturalistic fur rendering. These sleek swimmers often hunt for fish and crustaceans at 300 feet 90 meters and may dive to nearly 1,000 feet 300 meters.
Harp seals are sociable animals that enjoy the company of other seals. Also around 1 month, the seal pups are weaned from their mothers milk and begin to feed on krill. These seals are named after the black patch on their back, which looks like a harp. Recoverable seal parts include meat for asian pet food and meat markets, skins for waterproof coats and boots, fur for. Life cycle of a harp seal the life cycle of a harp seal has 6 stages. She will protect, care for, and feed themfor about two weeks.
The first population is found off the coast of east canada, second in the east ice of eastern russia in the white sea, and the third in the west ice of eastern greenland. Females give birth from late february through midmarch. Born in the spring on ice packs, harp seal pups go through 6 life stages. As a result there is much that researchers dont know about this part of it. The walrus is the only other pinniped found in the arctic. Harp seals teeth only grow when they eat, so if they dont eat, their teeth dont grow. The harp seal can be found in one of three separate populations, all of which have their own specific breeding zones. The harp seal pagophilus groenlandicus, also known as the saddleback seal, is a true seal best known for its adorable furry white pups. It is also the most abundant seal species in the northern hemisphere. Sharks and orcas hunt them, and land mammals will sometimes pursue them on the ice. When fertilization occurs, the egg develops into a blastocyst, which floats freely within the uterus for four months until it implants itself in the uterine lining for active development.
Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow from placental fluid are born weighing about 24 lbs. A harp seal s diet may include 70 species of invertebrates spineless animals such as crabs, amphipods, krill and shrimp. This species gets its common name from the harpshaped markings on the back of the otherwise darkly colored adults. Learn about the cruel, ecologically irresponsible, and totally unnecessary seal hunt on. The harp seal spends most of its life in the sea, however, it also goes onto ice floes. Seal pups weigh around 11 kg at birth however during nursing when they are fed exclusively on their mothers high fat milk, they quickly grow, gaining over 2 kg per day. The harp seals range includes the arctic and north atlantic oceans. Every year after this the female will return to the ice to give birth to one pup in february. A harp seal is able to reproduce when it is between 5 and 7 years of age. Estimating abundance and monitoring changes in population size are critical for the management of the species. Wildscreen s arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the worlds biggest encyclopaedia of life on earth.
Theyll make a life cycle wheel, complete cut and paste, research companion materials, and even a labeling activity. After mating is over, females form groups before giving birth. After a few days, the yellowish tint disappears, and the pups have a fluffy white fur coat. After that, the mother says enough is enough and abandons the baby alone on ice. An introduction to the canadian seal hunt harp seals. Adults typically hold this coloration between five years of age and the end of their lives. A great addition to any science or informational research unit, you can use any book or video in your classroom to learn about seals, and use the included research companion web organizer, kwl chart, and writing pages to write about seals. The mother becomes fertile again, and the pups are on their own. Harp seals will frequently be seen dancing during mating season. Seals do not chew their food, they swallow it in large chunks. The harp seal is an aquatic mammal belonging to the suborder pinnipedia finfooted animals and the family phocidae true seals lacking external ears that is found in the north atlantic and arctic oceans. Originally in the genus phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus pagophilus in 1844. They can crush the shells of crustaceans with their flat back teeth.
The largest of these, northern fur seals callorhinus ursinus, are the only fur seals that live in the northern hemisphere. Adult seals mate either within the water or on top of ice floes. Harp seal mothers are able to identify their babies by their smell. The harp seal is both the bestknown and among the most abundant of all seal species. With the help of over 7,000 of the worlds best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, arkive. Apr 17, 2010 the harp seal s range includes the arctic and north atlantic oceans. According to the norwegian ministry of fisheries and coastal affairs, harp seals eat more crustaceans during the summer and autumn feeding seasons, and switch to fish during the spring. Harp seal mothers give birth to a single pup in late february or march. As you teach about life cycles, your students will love to work together to complete this harp seal life cycle craft activity collaborative research poster. Web and writing pages 2 line sizes for seal harp seal kwl chart for seal and harp seal life cycle vocabulary or word wall cards 14 page full color life cycle cards great for group or partner work 2 cut and paste one page life cycle pages life cycle wheel cut and paste life cycle booklet. Climate change is destroying seals habitat and if they survive in open water, they are then subjected to slaughter during.
Harp seals abstract life cycle diet and predators threats continued works cited baby harp seals are born every year around february and march on the pack ice of newfoundland, the. They seek out pack ice a vital form of harp seal habitat in the southern reaches of the species range for the purpose of breeding. Harp seal, pagophilus, or phoca, groenlandica, also called saddleback, mediumsized, grayish earless seal possessing a black harpshaped or saddleshaped marking on its back. Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow from placental fluid.
Eight other species make up the arctocephalus genus of southern fur seals. Males end up courting the females on the ice but then move into the water for the actual act of reproduction to take place. Harp seal life cycle by skylah gauvin on prezi next. The female gives birth in early september to november. This is a collection of 6 arctic animals life cycles. To attract mates, some animals sing, like many frogs, or show off, like peacocks. Harp seals live throughout the cold waters of the north atlantic and arctic oceans. These patterns are more distinct on the bodies of adult males.