Harp Seal
Pagophilus groenlandicus
🦭
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Caniformia
Phocidae
Pagophilus
Pagophilus groenlandicus
Pagophilus means “ice lover” from Greek pagos (ice) + philos (lover); groenlandicus refers to Greenland, reflecting the species’ Arctic distribution.
An Arctic seal of ice and rhythm, migrating by instinct across frozen seas.
Description
The harp seal is a medium-sized true seal of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, instantly recognizable by the adults’ harp-shaped dark markings across their silvery backs. Adults measure around 1.8 meters in length and weigh 130 kilograms on average. Adapted to frigid waters, they possess thick blubber and can dive over 300 meters deep while holding their breath for 15 minutes.
Newborn pups, famous for their fluffy white coats, are born on pack ice and weaned within two weeks on fat-rich milk before their mothers depart, forcing them into early self-sufficiency. Harp seals are highly migratory, following sea-ice fronts between Greenland, Labrador, and the Barents Sea. Their social nature manifests in large breeding herds and synchronized pupping seasons tied to ice cycles.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
kg
m
m
m
Piscivore
Piscivore Fish eater
Hunt History
Harp seals have been hunted by Arctic and subarctic peoples for millennia for meat, oil, and hides. Their remains occur in coastal archaeological middens from the Mesolithic through modern times.
Komsak Culture, Northern Norway (≈9,000 years ago) – Early Mesolithic sites show harp seal bones with cut marks and evidence of oil rendering, among the oldest records of systematic Arctic sealing.
Port au Choix, Newfoundland (≈4,400 years ago) – Maritime Archaic Indian sites contain large harp seal bone assemblages, indicating organized seasonal hunts coinciding with ice-edge migrations.
Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland) Thule Settlements (≈800 years ago) – Inuit sites contain harpoon heads and blubber-processing tools associated with harp seal bones, demonstrating their economic and dietary significance well into historic times.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Extant
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene – Holocene
Arctic and Subarctic North Atlantic (Greenland, Labrador, Barents Sea)
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
High
Fat %
30
Est. Renderable Fat
35
kg
Targeted Organs
Subcutaneous Blubber, Omental Fat
Adipose Depots
Subcutaneous Blubber, Omental Fat, Perirenal Fat
Preferred Cuts
Subcutaneous Blubber
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
3