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The harbor (or harbour) seal (Phoca vitulina), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared seals, and true seals), they are found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic ...
Harbor seals (common seals) are also known to enter estuaries and freshwater rivers in pursuit of their prey. [8] In addition a unique subspecies in Quebec and an isolated population of harbor seals in Alaska are known to inhabit freshwater lakes for the duration of the year. They are also known to frequently migrate to the Western Arctic.
At present, Baikal seals show lower levels of contaminants than seals of Europe and North America, but higher than those in the Arctic. [1] The most serious future threat to the survival of the seal may be global warming, which has the potential to seriously affect a closed cold-water ecosystem such as that of Lake Baikal. [1]
Seals range in size from the 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and 45 kg (100 lb) Baikal seal to the 5 m (16 ft) and 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) southern elephant seal. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism. They have streamlined bodies and four limbs that are modified into flippers. Though not as fast in the water as dolphins, seals are more flexible and agile ...
Cal Poly researchers tag 10 seal pups to examine migration habits Elephant seals are migratory, with the adults swimming north along the coastline as far as Alaska and out into the northern Pacific.
Crabeater seals can raise their heads and arch their backs while on ice, and they are able to move quickly if not subject to overheating. Crabeater seals exhibit scarring either from leopard seal attacks around the flippers or, for males, during the breeding season while fighting for mates around the throat and jaw. [3]
Image credits: Ross Burgener Meanwhile, for Dr. Brandon, the most beautiful natural phenomenon is the northern lights, whereas the most fascinating is the diel vertical migration.
The skull of the leopard seal. The leopard seal has a distinctively long and muscular body shape when compared to other seals. The overall length of adults is 2.4–3.5 m (7.9–11.5 ft) and their weight is in the range 200 to 600 kilograms (440 to 1,320 lb), making them the same length as the northern walrus but usually less than half the weight.