Seals Common to the Maine Coast

The University of New England’s Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center is part of a network of centers authorized by the National Marine Fisheries Service to rescue and rehabilitate seals.

The facility not only allows rescue and rehabilitation of seals, but also research in developing the most effective means of rehabilitating seals and research on the causes of seal mortality.

The most common seals you will find at MARC are harbor seals, harp seals, gray seals and hooded seals. The following is a summary of the range, size, characteristics and habits of these four species.

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

2Range: Canadian Maritime Provinces, Gulf of Maine to Delaware Bay, Delaware Bay to Cape Hatteras (occasionally), Southern California-Baja California, Northern California, Pacific Northwest-Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. Breeds throughout most of range (north of New Hampshire on Atlantic coast).

Size: 0.7-0.9m, 9-15 kg (neonate); 0.9 m, 20-27 kg (weaning); 1.5-1.8 m, 75-120 kg (adult).

Distinguishing Features: Snout blunt; color variable (gray to tan to brownish-black, with darker spotting); pups gray to tan (white lanugo may be shed after birth in northern populations); pelage on back smooth to touch.

Habits: Coastal year-round, entering some rivers and some lakes; commonly haul out on land, sandbars and ledges at low tide; form casual small to large groups; pupping season varies with latitude (May-June in Canadian Maritime Provinces, March-May in Gulf of Maine to Delaware Bay).


Harp Seal (Phoca groenlandica)

12Range: Canadian Maritime Provinces (December – May); Gulf of Maine to Delaware Bay (uncommon); breeding areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off northeast coast of Newfoundland.

Size: 0.8-1.0 m, 7-12 kg (neonate); 1.0 m, 30-35 kg (weaning); 1.7-1.9 m; 120-180 kg (adult).

Distinguishing Features: Dark harp-shaped pattern on back and sides, white to tan background (pattern less distinct in females), dark head; neonates with white lanugo, juveniles gray to tan with darker spots.

Habits: Migratory; pupping and molting on pack ice; scattered during breeding, gregarious during migration and molt; pupping late February to mid-March; most April to May.


Gray seal (Halichoerus grypus)

14Range: Canadian Maritime Provinces; Nantucket Island to Gulf of Maine; breeding range form southern Nova Scotia to Gulf of St. Lawrence and Sable Island, isolated colony on Nantucket Island.

Size: 0.8-1.0 m, 11-20 kg (neonate); 1.1 m, 40-45 kig (weaning); 1.8-2.1 m, 100-180 kg (adult female); 2.2-2.4 m, 200-300 kg (adult male).

Distinguishing Features: Hind flipper with 1st and 5th digits slightly longer than middle three; foreflippers with long, slender, curved nails and 3rd digit shorter than 1st and 3rd; vibrissae beaded, slender and curled; snout long with straight or convex profile; nostrils W-shaped; eye closer to ear than to nose; 2 mammary teats; males distinctly larger than females; pelage coarsely spotted, with dark spots on a tan-gray background in females, and lighter spots on a dark background in males; juvenile coloration less distinct; neonates with white lanugo for 2-3 weeks.

Habits: Prefer remote exposed islands, sandbars and shoals; feed offshore; pupping (Canadian Maritime Provinces) January – February on islands or land-fast ice; mot May-June.


Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)

wadadli2Range: Canadian Maritime Provinces December – April; Gulf of Maine to Delaware Bay, occasionally; breeding areas in Davis Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and off northeastern coast of Newfoundland.
 
Size: 0.9-1.1 m, 15-20 kg (neonate); 2.0-2.2 m, 150-300 kg (adult female); 2.3-2.7 m, 200-375 kg (adult male).

Distinguishing Features: Hind flipper with 1st and 5th digits much longer than middle three; adult males with inflatable hood extending from crown to head of upper lip, and inflatable nasal sac; adult males larger than adult females; two mammary teats; body gray with irregular black patches, dark face; neonates blue-gray on back, white on belly, with dark face.

Habits: Migratory; associated with offshore pack ice in Canadian Maritime Provinces; occur in small family groups; pupping, March-April; molt June-August.

Source: “Marine Mammals Ashore: A Field Guide for Standings, National Aquarium in Baltimore.    
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