Harp seal life cycle

The female gives birth in early september to november. Harp seals spend most of their time diving and swimming in the icy waters of the north atlantic and arctic oceans. Harp seals live throughout the cold waters of the north atlantic and arctic oceans. In latin, its scientific name translates to icelover from. Experience the first few weeks in the life cycle of harp seal pups and capture precious moments in time. Yellow the first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket. Harp seal mothers are able to identify their babies by their smell. Adult seals mate either within the water or on top of ice floes.

Harp seal life cycle by skylah gauvin on prezi next. Life cycle of a harp seal by printableprompts teachers pay. Eight other species make up the arctocephalus genus of southern fur seals. Harp seals have been hunted commercially for over two centuries. Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow 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. The harp seal is both the bestknown and among the most abundant of all seal species. 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. Harp seals are sociable animals that enjoy the company of other seals. Harp seal mothers give birth to a single pup in late february or march. During february and march, over 250,000 harp seals can be found near the magdalen islands.

Harp seal, pagophilus, or phoca, groenlandica, also called saddleback, mediumsized, grayish earless seal possessing a black harpshaped or saddleshaped marking on its back. Life cycle of a harp seal by printableprompts teachers. The first stage of the weddell seal life cycle is when the male and female seal mate. Harp seals are the victims of the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. Learn about seals, including harp seals, hooded seals, harbor seals, grey seals, bearded seals, and ringed seals here. Also around 1 month, the seal pups are weaned from their mothers milk and begin to feed on krill. After a few days, the yellowish tint disappears, and the pups have a fluffy white fur coat. South american fur seals arctocephalus australis, new.

Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow from placental fluid. Harp seals are found on or near ice floes from the kara sea of russia west to the gulf of st. These sleek swimmers often hunt for fish and crustaceans at 300 feet 90 meters and may dive to nearly 1,000 feet 300 meters. The earless seals, phocids or true seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal lineage, pinnipedia. That baby harp seals are sometimes found eating snow a bit like the baby seal in the video above. This winter, keep your students learning about life cycles with this harp seal life cycle resource. An introduction to the canadian seal hunt harp seals. Skylah and katherine born in the spring on ice packs, harp seal pups go through 6 life stages. Theyll make a life cycle wheel, complete cut and paste, research companion materials, and even a labeling activity. In the late 1980s along the coast of norway, harp seal displacements resulted in many seals dying as bycatch in fishing nets winsnes, 2019. Yellow jacket the first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket.

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. Around ages five and six, a female harp seal matures enough to finally bear young. 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 harp seal is a true seal that lives in the north atlantic and arctic oceans, spending long periods of time associated with sea ice. Harp seals are sometimes called saddlebacks due to the saddleshaped markings on their backs. 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 seals will frequently be seen dancing during mating season. The pups go without food for about six weeks and can lose about half their body weight until. 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 can crush the shells of crustaceans with their flat back teeth. Leopard seal pups learn to swim and are weaned from the floating ice fields at 1 month of age. 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 seals are prey for killer whales, sharks and polar bears. The commercial sealing industry began with the harvest of adult harp seals in newfoundland and labrador during the middle of the 18th century. The first stage of a harp seals life is called a yellowjacket. Learn about the cruel, ecologically irresponsible, and totally unnecessary seal hunt on. In latin, its scientific name translates to icelover from greenland, and.

With the help of over 7,000 of the worlds best wildlife filmmakers and photographers, conservationists and scientists, arkive. After weaning, the pups start to lose their white coats and are known first as raggedjackets and then as beaters. The harp seals range includes the arctic and north atlantic oceans. Harp seals pagophilus groenlandicus have been harvested for centuries in the north atlantic. Although they live in cold water, harp seal pups are born without any protective fat. The harp seal life cycle encompasses pupping on southerly packice, ongoing molts and yearly migrations that may exceed 3,000 miles. The harp seal spends most of its life in the sea, however, it also goes onto ice floes.

After that, the mother says enough is enough and abandons the baby alone on ice. The maximum lifespan of a harp seal is approximately 30 years. To attract mates, some animals sing, like many frogs, or show off, like peacocks. Harp seal life cycle female harp seals give birth to pups between late february and midmarch. 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. When the pups reach about 80 pounds 36 kilograms, their mothers stop nursing them. 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. The harp seals lifecycle is marked by a progression from onice birth to inwater mating and subsequent onice molt. It gets its common name from the markings resembling a wishbone, harp, or saddle that develop on its back in adulthood. The walrus is the only other pinniped found in the arctic.

The seals scientific name means icelover from greenland. 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. In mating season the seals vocal noises are extremely load. Harp seals marinebio video library nat geo harp seal wallpaper. During mating season, females form large colonies on floating ice and give birth. An extensive migration follows, taking these animals northward to high arctic summering grounds and southward in an autumnal return migration to the breeding grounds. As a result there is much that researchers dont know about this part of it. How to describe the life cycle of a harp seal quora. Before they learn to swim the pups are very vulnerable to polar bears. 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. These sleek swimmers cruise the chilly waters and feed on fish and crustaceans. Life cycle of a harp seal this winter, keep your students learning about life cycles with this harp seal life cycle resource.

This species gets its common name from the harpshaped markings on the back of the otherwise darkly colored adults. Life cycle of a harp seal life cycle of a harp seal the life cycle of a harp seal has 6 stages. Males and females are similar in size, averaging 1. This poster was created to document the phases of development that occur during the life cycle of the harp seal using 3d assets. Create a beautiful collaborative research poster as you study the life of a harp seal. The pups dont have any blubber at birth, but quickly gain weight nursing on highfat mothers milk. Recoverable seal parts include meat for asian pet food and meat markets, skins for waterproof coats and boots, fur for. Sharks and orcas hunt them, and land mammals will sometimes pursue them on the ice. The eared seals found furthest north are the northern fur seal and the steller sea lion. The mother becomes fertile again, and the pups are on their own. This is a collection of 6 arctic animals life cycles. In march 2012, the harp seal pup production was estimated from aerial photographic surveys over the whelping areas. Harp seals are named for the harpshaped rings on their backs. 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.

Born in the spring on ice packs, harp seal pups go through 6 life stages. 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. The seals are usually around six to eight years old when they breed, but can be earlier sometimes. A newborn pup is called a yellowjacket because of its tinted yellow fur. Mother harp seals can identify their own young in the thousands of a colony by their scent. She will protect, care for, and feed themfor about two weeks. Life cycle of a harp seal the life cycle of a harp seal has 6 stages. Harp seals teeth only grow when they eat, so if they dont eat, their teeth dont grow. Harp seals gather in large groups of up to several thousand to molt and breed. Originally in the genus phoca with a number of other species, it was reclassified into the monotypic genus pagophilus in 1844. Wildscreen s arkive project was launched in 2003 and grew to become the worlds biggest encyclopaedia of life on earth.

These seals are named after the black patch on their back, which looks like a harp. Harp seal harp seals spend relatively little time on land and prefer to swim in the north atlantic and arctic oceans. They are able to remain submerged for up to 15 minutes. Never straying far from it, the annual harp seal migration is perfectly timed around ice formation. Newborn pups with white fur tinted yellow from placental fluid are born weighing about 24 lbs. The maximum life span for the harp seal is 35 years. Fur seals compose nine species in taxonomic family otariidae. Seals do not chew their food, they swallow it in large chunks. The harp seal can be found in one of three separate populations, all of which have their own specific breeding zones.

Females of reproductive age birth one pup per year on stable ice in late february or march. Three months after birth, seal pups are double their birth size. Females give birth from late february through midmarch. 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. Every year after this the female will return to the ice to give birth to one pup in february. 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. Harp seals are attractively patterned pinnipeds that inhabit the chilly waters of the north atlantic and the arctic ocean. Adults typically hold this coloration between five years of age and the end of their lives. Pups nurse for about 1012 days, during which time they gain weight rapidly, and do not enter the water. 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. Harp seals live in groups of several animals, and typically live 2030 years. Your kindergarten first and second grade students will love learning all about harp seals.

Recoverable seal parts include meat for asian pet food and meat markets, skins for waterproof coats and boots, fur for coats, genitals. 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. Its life span is between 10 and 30 years in the wild. Harp seal development manifests via changes to the color and length of the animals coats, requiring naturalistic fur rendering. The largest of these, northern fur seals callorhinus ursinus, are the only fur seals that live in the northern hemisphere. Apr 17, 2010 the harp seal s range includes the arctic and north atlantic oceans. 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. 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. After mating is over, females form groups before giving birth. This slaughter continues for many reasons including the value of the pelts, government propaganda, and pride in this socalled tradition.