The Harp Seal, is earless and defined as a true seal. The seal that breeds on the ice in the Arctic and northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean is the Harp Seal. The Harp Seal inhabits three distinct areas. One is in the Northwest Atlantic that breeds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off Labrador and Newfoundland. The second group breeds off Greenland and the third herd breeds near the Barents and White Sea. Animal watcher observed individual Harp Seals as far south as the state of Virginia and off the coast of France.
It gets its name from the horseshoe pattern on the mature Harp Seals. The older adult males have markings of a cinnamon emblem on each side of their body that looks similar to a harp, therefore the name Harp Seal. The seal's head is dark brown or black and the design on the female may be not as clear as that on the male seal. The newborn pups have soft fur, colored white and then their coat changes to a darker color in about 12 days. The adult seal is about five feet six inches in length and weighs about 275 pounds.
Wooing of the female seals by the males is complicated. The courting ceremonies include calling, blowing bubbles under water, making pawing signals and going after the female seals on the ice. While trying to mate with the females the males fight with both their teeth and flippers. Mating is indiscriminate and occurs in late days of March. The mating takes place about 14 days after the pups are born. The female has a gestation period of 7½ months and the newborns arrive between late February and early March.
Harp Seals are very vocal on the grounds where they breed and begin raising their young pups in March. They bear their young on large floating ice fields. The Harp Seals large eyes allow them to see well at night and on bright days. Also their eyes let them see well both in the water and on top of the sea's surface. In the spring, Harp Seals migrate south assembling in big groups to mate off Newfoundland and Norway.
When the newborn Harp Seals arrive the on ice floes they have a fluffy white coat from birth to when the mother seal stops nursing. The weaning of the young seals by its mother takes about 15 days. As the seals mature their fur turns to gray.
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