Species Identifier: Harbor Seal

Harbor Seal (phocid)
Phoca vitulina

• Habitat:
  Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, from Alaska to Baja
• Diet:
  herring, squid, octopus, shrimp, sculpin, salmon, flounder, alewife, hake, smelt, mackerel, sand lance, capelin, cod, and mollusks
• Diet at PMMC:
  herring and smelt
• Males:
  5 to 6 feet long, weigh up to 300 pounds
• Females:
  slightly smaller
• Dive:
  swim 10 to 15 mph, can dive 1500 feet for up to 40 minutes, average 3-7 min./dive
• Pupping Season:
  In California, February to March. Pups weigh 25-30 pounds at birth.
• Population:
  In North Pacific, estimated to be 330,000. In California, about 40,000 as of 1997.
• Predators:
  polar bears, killer whales, sharks, humans, eagles, and coyotes (coyotes eat pups)

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