Seals

Harbor seals gaze out at the world with big eyes and sometimes remind us of human babies. But of course, harbor seals have nothing to do with human babies. They aren't dogs either. They belong to the seal family and live in and around the sea. Harbor seals prefer shallow coastal waters. One such habitat is the Wadden Sea on the North Sea coast, where many harbor seals live. You can also spot harbor seals in the Baltic Sea, although their numbers there are very low. In the past, harbor seals were hunted for their meat, fur, and the oil from their blubber. Later, they were nearly wiped out because fishermen saw them as competitors. Today, hunting harbor seals in the North Sea is prohibited. You can also see these animals in some zoos. At public feeding times, you can watch them. They are easy to train. They swim and dive for balls and rings, bring them back, jump through hoops, or greet the audience by waving their flippers.

Harbour seals are exceptionally well adapted to life in the water. Their streamlined bodies and flippers make them excellent swimmers. They sometimes even sleep in the water. On land, they move forward by “rolling” along on their flippers. Male harbour seals grow to about 1.5 to 1.7 metres long and weigh 120 to 150 kilograms. Females reach a length of 1.4 metres and weigh 100 kilograms. Harbour seals like to rest on sandbanks, where they can sunbathe and relax while still being able to slip quickly back into the water. They have short, dense fur and a layer of blubber to protect them from the cold. Their fur is dark grey and spotted. Their long whiskers act as feelers and help them locate prey. In captivity, harbour seals can live for up to 40 years, but in the wild they usually live only 20 to 25 years.

There are three families of seals: true seals, eared seals and walruses. The harbor seal belongs to the true seals, which also include grey seals, Baikal seals and ringed seals.

The huge elephant seals, which can grow to 6.5 metres long and weigh 3,000 kilograms, are also eared seals. All seals move gracefully in the water, but waddle clumsily on land.

Eared seals have large front flippers that they use to support themselves on land. They get their name from their clearly visible ears. They prefer to live in large colonies. Eared seals include the various species of fur seals and sea lions. There is only one species of walrus. These animals prefer the cold seas of the Northern Hemisphere, weigh around 1,500 kilograms, and have long tusks. They eat 3,000 to 6,000 clams in a single meal.

Harbor seals can stay underwater for up to 30 minutes and dive to depths of 200 meters. Their large eyes help them see very well underwater. On land, they rely on their excellent hearing. Their ears are visible as small holes on the sides of their heads.

Harbor seals are predators. Adult seals mainly eat fish. They need about two to three kilograms of food a day. But they can also eat as much as seven kilograms in one day, then go without food for several days. Harbor seals are excellent hunters. They are very agile underwater and can reach speeds of 30 to 40 kilometers per hour. When diving, they mainly hunt herring, sardines, cod, salmon and flatfish. Their long claws help them get a good grip on their prey.

Young seals develop in their mothers’ wombs for eleven months. They are usually born on a sandbank in the Wadden Sea between early June and mid-July. But because the sandbanks are flooded twice a day, the pups have to swim just a few hours after birth. Newborn pups weigh about seven to twelve kilograms and are around 80 centimeters long. They grow quickly, tripling their weight in five weeks. During this time, their mothers nurse them. Then they are on their own and have to find enough food for themselves. Sometimes young seals become separated from their mothers. They then try to make contact again by calling loudly. If they fail, their lives are in danger. Two seal rescue centers have been set up on the North Sea coast for these so-called “crying seals,” one in Friedrichskoog and one in Norddeich. There, people try to prepare the young seals for life in the sea.