Harp seals are marine mammals of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Adults typically exhibit light gray fur with a black mask on their face and a curved, black patch on their back, which resembles a harp and gives them their common name. Newborn pups are born with a fluffy white coat, known as lanugo. These seals spend much of their lives in frigid marine environments.
Global Distribution
Harp seals inhabit the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Their distribution is primarily concentrated in three distinct populations, each identified by their specific whelping grounds. These populations are found in the Northwest Atlantic, the Greenland Sea, and the Barents Sea/White Sea.
The Northwest Atlantic population is off eastern Canada, divided into two groups: the “Front” herd, breeding off Newfoundland and Labrador, and the “Gulf” herd, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Another population breeds in the Greenland Sea, specifically north of Jan Mayen Island, known as the “West Ice.” The third group is in the Barents Sea and White Sea, in the southeastern Barents Sea, known as the “East Ice.” This wide distribution extends from Hudson Bay and Baffin Island in the west, eastward to Cape Chelyuskin in northern Russia. The Northwest Atlantic population is the largest, with approximately 7 million seals, while the Greenland Sea population numbers around 427,000, and the Barents Sea/White Sea population is 1.5 million.
Seasonal Movements
Harp seals are highly migratory, traveling thousands of miles annually. Their movements are closely tied to the seasonal formation and retreat of sea ice, as they migrate northward in summer and southward in winter. In summer, these seals often move away from the dense pack ice to feed in the open waters of the Arctic.
As new ice forms in autumn, harp seals migrate southward to their breeding grounds. Seals from the Northwest Atlantic population, after breeding, follow the receding pack ice along the Labrador coast, some venturing into Hudson Bay, around Baffin Island, or along the Canadian and Greenlandic sides of the Davis Strait. The Greenland Sea and Barents Sea/White Sea populations migrate northward in spring, converging in the Barents Sea and extending to Franz Joseph Land and Svalbard. These migrations also coincide with molting periods, when large groups of seals gather on the ice to shed their fur.
Habitat Preferences
Harp seals depend on suitable sea ice. They use stable pack ice platforms for crucial life stages: birth, nursing, and molting. Newborn pups lack blubber and rely on ice platforms for warmth and safety while nursing and developing fat reserves. After weaning, pups remain on the ice for several weeks.
Their habitat is cold water, abundant in food sources. Harp seals consume a diverse diet of fish and crustaceans, including capelin, Arctic cod, polar cod, herring, and various shrimp and krill. They are capable divers, typically foraging at depths between 100 to 200 meters, though they can reach 270 to 400 meters in search of prey. Harp seals are social animals, often forming large gatherings on the ice during breeding and molting seasons.