Adult Female Harp Seal Picture Gulf Of St Lawrence

An adult female Harp Seal has found an ice hole where she pops up and places one flipper on the side of the ice in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada.

An adult female Harp Seal suddenly appears from an ice hole in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada looking for her pup which has patiently waited her return. There are several ice holes across this frozen landscape where the female Harp Seals periodically pop up, this one particularly cute with her flipper resting on the ice, her frozen whiskers and her big black eyes looking around.

An adult Harp Seal can grow to be about 1.67 meters long and weigh between 115 and 180 kilograms, with the females being relatively smaller than the males. Their fur coat is about 2 centimeters long, very thick and velvety except that the female is a paler brown and grey in color.

When an adult Harp Seal reaches puberty, which is between 5 and 7 years, their lifespan will continue for approximately 30 years in the wild. The female will give birth to one pup when she reaches puberty, usually born in late February, not long before the treacherous seal hunt begins in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

...

When the female Harp Seal returns to the frigid waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence after nursing her pup, she will feed on a variety of fish and sea creatures. The only dangers in which the Harp Seal fears are that of humans, polar bears, killer whales, sharks and occasionally, the walrus.

Heather and Paul McCartney on the Ice to Protect Seals. March 2.2006, Gulf of St. Lawrence. © HSUS / Rolf Hicker Wildlife Photography