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Harp Seal: Difference between revisions
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|reallife=[[File:Harp seal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left| A | |reallife=[[File:Harp seal.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left| A harp seal on ice floe. Photo by [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harp_seal.jpg claumoho], 2008.]] | ||
The | The harp seal, also known as the saddleback or Greenland seal, is a species of earless seal or phocid, native to the northernmost Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. In Greek, its scientific name (Pagophilus groenlandicus) translates to "ice-lover from Greenland". Harp seals are about 5 to 6 feet long, weigh about 260 to 300 pounds, and have a robust body with a small, flat head. They have a narrow snout and eight pairs of teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. Their front flippers have thick, strong claws, while their back flippers have smaller, narrower claws. The Harp seal gets its name from a characteristic marking on the back of adult males, an irregular horseshoe-shaped black stripe across its back. This marking, resembling a harp, connects at the shoulders, curves towards the abdomen, then ascends towards the hind flippers before fading away. These seals spend most of their time near pack ice in coastal ocean waters. On land, they favor rough ice at least a foot in thickness. | ||
Harp seals are polygynous typically lead solitary lives, except during the mating season, when tens of thousands gather together to molt and breed, offering the best chance of reproduction. Male courtship behaviors include pawing gestures, vocalizations, bubble blowing, and pursuit of females across the ice. They also fight for mating opportunities by striking one another with their flippers and biting. Underwater, calling serves as the primary mode of communication across short and long distances, facilitating herd coordination and mate attraction. On land, these creatures utilize trills, clicks, and chirping sounds for similar purposes, also to attract a mate or in response to a predator coming too near to a pup. Harp seal pups have long, wooly, white fur known as lanugo that lasts until about 3 to 4 weeks old. This white fur helps absorb sunlight and trap heat to keep the pups warm. Pups molt several times during their development. | Harp seals are polygynous typically lead solitary lives, except during the mating season, when tens of thousands gather together to molt and breed, offering the best chance of reproduction. Male courtship behaviors include pawing gestures, vocalizations, bubble blowing, and pursuit of females across the ice. They also fight for mating opportunities by striking one another with their flippers and biting. Underwater, calling serves as the primary mode of communication across short and long distances, facilitating herd coordination and mate attraction. On land, these creatures utilize trills, clicks, and chirping sounds for similar purposes, also to attract a mate or in response to a predator coming too near to a pup. Harp seal pups have long, wooly, white fur known as lanugo that lasts until about 3 to 4 weeks old. This white fur helps absorb sunlight and trap heat to keep the pups warm. Pups molt several times during their development. | ||
Though their population trend is increasing and is of least concern (9 million individuals reported by the IUCN Red List), the single largest threat to the harp seal is over-exploitation along with an unregulated and expanding trade in seal products. Other threats are global warming, accidental catches in fishing equipment, oil spills, and other environmental contaminants. Oil development located in the Barents Sea is a future threat. | Though their population trend is increasing and is of least concern (9 million individuals reported by the IUCN Red List), the single largest threat to the harp seal is over-exploitation along with an unregulated and expanding trade in seal products. Other threats are global warming, accidental catches in fishing equipment, oil spills, and other environmental contaminants. Oil development located in the Barents Sea is a future threat. | ||
|trivia=* The harp used in both of her designs is a reference to the animal's name. | |trivia=* The harp used in both of her designs is a reference to the animal's name. | ||
* Immediately after giving birth, mother seals smell their newborn, and from that time on will only feed their own pup, as they remember the scent. | * Immediately after giving birth, mother seals smell their newborn, and from that time on will only feed their own pup, as they remember the scent. | ||
* Harp seals are very strong high-speed swimmers, moving quickly on ice and diving more than 270 m (886 ft). | * Harp seals are very strong high-speed swimmers, moving quickly on ice and diving more than 270 m (886 ft). | ||
* Fossils of harp seals show that they were alive during the mid-Miocene, about 20 million years ago. | * Fossils of harp seals show that they were alive during the mid-Miocene, about 20 million years ago. | ||
* Seals wandering off from the herd are called “vagrants” or | * Seals wandering off from the herd are called “vagrants” or “vagabonds.” | ||
|reference=*https://animalia.bio/harp-seal | |reference=*https://animalia.bio/harp-seal | ||
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*https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41671/45231087 | *https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41671/45231087 | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{MammalFriendsNav}} | {{MammalFriendsNav}} | ||
[[Category:Real Animal Friends]] [[Category:Mammal Friends]] [[Category:Pinniped Friends]] [[Category:Nexon Game Debuts]] [[Category:Redesigned Friends]] [[Category:Seal Friends]] | [[Category:Real Animal Friends]] [[Category:Mammal Friends]] [[Category:Pinniped Friends]] [[Category:Nexon Game Debuts]] [[Category:Redesigned Friends]] [[Category:Seal Friends]] | ||