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The harbor seal, commonly known as the common seal, is a genuine seal found around the Northern Hemisphere’s temperate and Arctic coastal coasts. Walruses, eared seals, and genuine seals are the most extensively dispersed pinniped species, occurring in the northern Atlantic, Pacific Oceans, Baltic, and North Seas.

Harbor seals have V-shaped noses and are brown, silvery white, tan, or grey. Adults can grow to be 1.85 m (6.1 ft) long and weigh up to 168 kg (370 lb). The blubber maintains the seal’s body temperature under its skin. Females outlive males by 30″35 years compared to 20″25 years for males. Harbor seals return to their favourite resting locations or haulout sites, which are usually rocky regions (though ice, sand, and mud may also be utilised). They are shielded from the elements and predators and close to a feeding area. Males may compete for mates both in the sea and on land. After a nine-month pregnancy, females give birth to a single pup, which they must care for on their own. Puppies may weigh up to 16 kg (35 lb) and can swim and dive as soon as they are born. They grow fast on their mothers’ fat-rich milk, and after four to six weeks, they are weaned.

Harbor seals have a worldwide population of 350,000″500,000, although subspecies in specific environments are endangered. Sealing, which was once prevalent, is now prohibited in several countries within the animal’s habitat.

Each harbor seal has a distinct pattern of spots, either black on a light backdrop or light on a dark background. They range in colour from brownish black to tan or grey, with lighter underbelly. The body is small, as are the flippers, and the heads are rounded. The nostrils have a characteristic V shape. There is no pinna on genuine seals, as there is on other true seals (ear flap). Behind the eye, an ear canal may be visible. They may reach an adult length of 1.85 m (6.1 ft) and a weight of 55 to 168 kg, including the head and flippers (120 to 370 lb). Females are smaller than men in general.

The number of harbor seals in the globe is believed to be between 350,000 and 500,000. While the population as a whole is not endangered, the populations of Greenland, Hokkaido, and the Baltic Sea are. Disease (particularly the phocine distemper virus) and conflict with humans have both inadvertently and purposefully decreased or exterminated local populations. Killing seals that are thought to be a hazard to fisheries is permitted in the UK, Norway, and Canada, but commercial hunting is prohibited. Seals are also caught as bycatch in subsistence hunting and bycatch (mainly in bottomset nets). Bycatch was responsible for 48 percent of pup mortality along the Norwegian coast.

The 1970 Conservation of Seals Act protects seals in the United Kingdom, prohibiting most types of slaughter. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 forbids the killing of any marine animals. Most municipal ordinances and NOAA advise individuals to leave seals alone unless there is a significant threat to the seal.

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