|
about |
The Harbor Seal The true seal of the Northern Hemisphere, the Harbor seal has the widest range of all seals. They are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as the Baltic and North Sea. With an estimated 400,000 individuals, they are not threatened as a whole but local populations have been reduced or eliminated through outbreaks of disease and conflict with humans. Each individual has a unique pattern of fine dark spots or light spots on a dark background. There are four or five subspecies of the harbor seal who love to congregate in harbors and on docks which gave the animal their common name. As top level feeders in the kelp forest, these mammals enhance species diversity and productivity. They can dive for up to ten minutes reaching depths of 154 feet. It is illegal to kill seals in the United Kingdom, Norway and Canada. Commercial hunting is illegal in the U.S. as they fall under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Greatest threat: the Great White Shark , climate changes and man.
|