Harbor Seal
Harbor seals are recognized for emitting a diverse range of sounds, both beneath the water’s surface and in the air. Their underwater vocalization is characterized as a roar. In addition, they generate brief barks, grunts, growls, and pup contact calls above water. Use the arrows to explore the recordings.
Harbor Seal Facts
LATIN NAME Phoca vitulina
LENGTH About 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft); males are slightly larger than females.
WEIGHT Adults commonly weigh about 82–129 kg (180–285 lb), with size varying by sex and region.
LIFETIME About 25–30 years; some females have been recorded living to about 35 years.
PHYSICAL TRAITS They possess a unique pattern of spots, either dark on light or light on dark background. They vary in color from brownish black to tan or gray, with the underparts being generally lighter. The body and flippers are short, the heads are rounded and the nostrils appear distinctively V-shaped. As with other true seals, there is no pinna (ear flap). An ear canal may be visible behind the eye.
BEHAVIOR They mate underwater, and during the breeding season, males establish underwater territories and use acoustic signals to defend these areas. These vocalizations are known as “roars.” Roars are low frequency vocalizations that directly overlap with the low frequency noise associated with vessels.
HABITAT Harbor seals are commonly seen resting on rocks and beaches along the coast and on floating ice in glacial fjords. They prefer to frequent familiar resting sites. They may spend several days at sea in search of feeding grounds and also enter rivers and freshwater lakes. Although many remain close to familiar sites, tracking studies show that some travel hundreds of kilometers. Their resting sites may be both rugged, rocky coasts, such as those of the Hebrides or the shorelines of New England, or sandy beaches, like the ones that flank Normandy in Northern France or the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Harbor seals frequently congregate in harbors, bays, and sandy intertidal zones.
LOCATIONS Temperate coastal habitats along the northern coasts of North America, Europe, and Asia. They occur on the U.S. East and West coasts. On the East Coast, harbor seals are found from the Canadian Arctic to the Mid-Atlantic. They are one of the most common marine mammals along the U.S. West and East Coasts.
FOOD Prey fish such as salmon, menhaden, anchovy, sea bass, herring, mackerel, cod, whiting and flatfish, and occasionally shrimp, crabs, mollusks, and squid.
PREDATORS Harbor seals are targeted by large sharks and killer whales; the importance of different predators varies by region. On land, seals can fall prey to wolves, bears, and coyotes, and bald eagles may take newborn pups.
