Otariids Vs Antarctic Fur Seal

The Phocidae family consists of 29 existing species of earless seal that have been left from the initial 40. Out of this moderately sized group, we will be looking at the Hawaiian monk seal, Southern elephant seal, and the Crabeater seal.

Inuit communities are exempted from seal product restrictions and are allowed to hunt up to 400,000 seals ( a quota set by the government)

Every year in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, three Canadian seal populations are opened for commercial hunting. Since the 1750s, hooded seals, grey seals and iconic harp seals have been hunted for their valuable pelts and omega-3 rich oil. After being nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800s and a period of extensive anti-hunt activism in the 1960s and 70s, the hunt has become strictly regulated. Now, activism has forced the Atlantic Seal Hunt to support and maintain standards of sustainable resource harvesting and humaneness, and this hunt now has the potential to be a role model in these areas for other similar hunts worldwide.

This creature is known as a harbor seal and was found on October 23rd, 1805 near the Columbia river, 100 miles away from the Pacific Ocean. and found in fresh water. They are also known to be found on the coast of California, they are often found laying on rocks on sandy beaches.

The population decline in monk seals is due to several different factors with the biggest reason due to the low pup and juvenile survival rates (Curtice et al, 2011). At the Kure Atoll on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 32 pups were observed in 1964 and 30 pups were observed in 1965. Of these pups born, all but one died or disappeared within 60 days after birth. This was also seen in the 1970’s at Green Island and Kure Atoll, where a mean population of 17 and 14 seals, respectively, was counted on these beaches, with a birth total of 10 showing a population decline of 70% (Gilmartin et al, 2011). The juvenile survival rate is still seen today with one in five monk seals surviving to the reproductive age, with one year old seals having the highest mortality rates (Norris et al, 2011).

Kathy Conlan is an expert in understanding the weird and wonderful world of marine creatures that live deep under the Arctic ice. She specializes in marine benthic biology and amphipod systematics. Kathy studies how human and natural changes affect marine life in the Arctic and Antarctic, the effects of pollution on marine life as well as global warming. She is past chief officer for Life Sciences in the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and is a judge for SCAR’s Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and policy in Antarctica, represents Canada for the Canadian Committee on Antarctic Research, taught at Huntsman Marine Science Centre and Students On Ice, mentors university students and gives speaches and “Show and tells” at the museum.

The negative human impacts on harbor seals are devastating, and there are yet to be any major positive impacts. In the 1900s, fur traders would hunt harbor seal pups that were less than four weeks old for their fine coats, which were highly valued. This led to a decrease in the harbor seal population. Harbor seals were also hunted by salmon fishermen who saw the seals as competitors for the fish. After a while many harbor seal populations had to abandon traditional haul-out areas. This was sad for the seals, because the main diet of a harbor seal is fish.

Due to misinformation, some believe that the monk seal’s primary diet is commercial fish, and competes with local fishers by eating its weight in fish in a single day— this is patently untrue, as no large mammal would be able to consume that much food in a single day. Some believe that the seals were brought in by the federal government and are not actually endemic to Hawaii. While it’s true that the main population of monk seals have existed in the Northwest Hawaiian islands (NWHI), there is archaeological evidence from before the 19th century that the seals coexisted with humans in the MHI (Watson et al). Since they are also a relatively rare species, their cultural prevalence has not been as strong as some species (i.e., sea turtles). The use of historical Hawaiian newspapers, as well as research into Hawaiian etymology, as well as archaeological and anthropological investigations can help add to our knowledge base (Watson et al). NOAA’s Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center, and the Marine Conservation Institute are doing much to dispel these myths by providing informational websites to the

Have you ever wondered how different and alike bottlenose dolphins and harp seals are?Bottlenose dolphins and harp seals have different body shapes,yet they have the same color.A bottlenose dolphin and a harp seal have different lengths and weights.

The common practice of seal hunting in the North of Canada is important and crucial in ways because it has a traditional significance to First Nations People, is of economic importance, and is ethically scrupulous. Firstly, Seal Hunting has a long history and carries a traditional significance among First Nations People. A community who has a rich history of Seal Hunting is The Netsilik Inuit

The different types of seals are the Leopard Seal, Harp Seal, Gray Seal, Northern Elephant Seal, Southern Elephant Seal, Weddell Seal, Hawaiian Monk Seal, and the Mediterranean Monk Seal. Seals have quite a spread when it comes to their habitats. They can be found in the cold regions of the Antarctic, to warm, extremely sunny places. They are able to survive in the icy conditions due to the layers of blubber on their bodies that keeps them warm. The seals that live in colder regions are heavier in size. Seals are breathtaking, more people should educate themselves on seals so the seals can be

Did you know about the harp seal’s adaptation? To begin, the harp seals are found in the arctic ocean. They spend a little bit of time on land. Additionally, they have claws. They have four claws on their fins. They use their claws to defend themselves. The last important adaptation is that the harp seals have fur. They have fur to keep them warm. The fur is also helpful for the baby seals. They can use their white fur to camouflage in with the snow. Now you know about the harp seals adaptation.

The pups double their weight during nursing and are weaned after three to four weeks. Mating likely occurs shortly after weaning, though little is known of the breeding system. Ribbon seals are known to eat a variety of fishes, cephalopods, and crustaceans; however, information about their feeding habits is limited and mostly restricted to the spring when ribbon seals are typically feeding less, as evidenced by their decreased weight and blubber thickness. Although there is little direct evidence of predation, potential predators of ribbon seals include polar bears, killer whales, sharks, and walruses. Ribbon seals are relatively unwary while hauled out and can be approached closely by boat. This behavior suggests that ribbon seals probably do not experience much predation by polar bears, but may also make them especially susceptible to hunting by man. Siberia and Alaska Natives have hunted the ribbon seal for many generations for subsistence, and the current annual take by Alaska Natives is estimated to be less than 200 seals per year. Commercial harvests of ribbon seals were conducted by Soviet sealers in the 1960s to 1980s, during which time the Bering Sea population is thought to have declined from 80,000 or 90,000 animals to 60,000. Surveys during the early and mid-1970s put the worldwide population estimate of ribbon seals between 200,000 and 240,000, with estimates ranging between 60,000 and 100,000 in the Bering Sea (Shustov, 1972; Burns, 1981). A more recent and reliable abundance estimate is not currently

The polar bear lives up in the Arctic region where global warming and climate change are melting the ice caps that the bears thrive on. They use the ice as a platform from hunting and rest. The random pocket holes in the ice, where the seals pop up at, is where the polar bear catches its prey. With this reduction of ice, “the abundance of seals, and increases the amount of energy and time needed for hunting, leaving less energy for reproduction” (Endangered Species and Habitats).

The article I read was about Hawaiian monk seals. Obviously the seals are found in Hawaii. The seals have six main islands in Hawaii where they populate: Kure Atoll, Midway Islands, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, and French Frigate Shoals. The Hawaiian monk seals are named the official state mammal of Hawaii. The Hawaiian monk seals have a diet that ranges from fish, squid, octopus, and lobster. The seals hunt mainly at night and during the day they lay on sandy beaches. The mating season for the seals is mainly from December until mid- August. When pup seals are born they are mainly three feet long and weigh about thirty-five pounds. The first month or two the seals stay with their mother so they are able to nurse.