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Nelson Poirier

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We had a surprise visitor this past week in New Brunswick that's cause for Naturescope to interrupt the "Christmas program lineup."

Enlarge Photo

GILLES BELLIVEAU PHOTO

This unexpected adult harp seal was photographed last week as it rested on the shoreline in Shediac. Adult harp seals are unusual this far south, especially so far ahead of firm ice cover.

When checking a hotspot for birds just off Dock Street in Shediac (near the Big Lobster), Gilles Belliveau spotted a seal hauled up on a sandbar on November 21. At first, he didn't think of it as anything unusual but after noting a pelage pattern on it that seemed different, he took a photo.

Yes, it was different alright. It was an adult harp seal and its presence in Shediac Bay on November 21 has to be considered unexpected. Or is it something that, thanks to changing climate and exploding harp seal populations, means their unexpected visits this far south may become more expected.

Gilles's photo shows an animal that appears very healthy, with no obvious hips protruding (which is often a sign of an unhealthy seal).

There have been a significant number of harp seals reported in recent years in Shediac Bay when there is a thick, heavy ice layer in January, February and March. Reports are of predominantly immature animals. It takes the harp seal four years to reach sexual maturity and develop its distinct dark head and "harp" signature pattern on its back. Up until four years of age, identification takes closer observation, especially when a lone animal is spotted.

The immature animals have more of a tendency to wander further south than the vast majority of the herd that will winter and breed on pack ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coast of Labrador. However, come spring, they will follow the retreating ice northward to spend the summer off Baffin Island and Greenland.

The Harp Seal groups in midwinter can be as high as 6,000 females per square mile in the whelping "patches."

In New Brunswick, many of Mother Nature's land animal community share space with us. However, we have several mammals that are indeed true mammals much more at home off our coastline. The whales, porpoises, and dolphins have evolved/adapted to spend all of their time at sea, except for the occasional "beachings" that can be catastrophic to them.

However, there is the in-between group, the seals, that are quite at home in the water most of their lives, but have no objections to hauling themselves up on land, ice, or even docks and small boats to sun bathe or to simply loaf about.

They also choose to give birth to their young either on coastal beaches or on firm ice. In New Brunswick, the harbour seal and the grey seal are our most common seal residents, although we do get visits from other seal species, particularly the harp seal, and their visits seem to be getting more frequent for a variety of reasons.

The "pupping" times of these seals do vary somewhat. Grey seals have their pups from mid-December to early February, their prime whelping period. They have their pups on ice flows in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and a second site on Sable Island, along with a few other scattered sites, including rocky ledges off Grand Manan Island. We will sometimes see Grey seal pups along our New Brunswick coast. Grey seal pups are white when they are born and will stay white for two to four weeks. They are not able to swim at birth and are very dependant upon their mothers.

Harbour seals do not whelp until almost five months later than grey seals, in May and June, along our coast, often on islands and ledges. The new born harbour seals are rarely white at birth and are able to swim almost immediately.

Distinguishing the grey seal from the harbour seal is usually not difficult with a bit of sleuthing. The adult grey seal is larger than the harbour seal at 6-1/2 to 7-1/2 feet and weighing in at 330 to 660 pounds (the males can be double the size of the females), while an adult harbour seal would be smaller at five feet in length and weigh approximately 220 pounds with little male-female differential.

Remember, however, that these are adult sizes and immature animals can put that differential into a tailspin. Sometimes, we will see both of these species loafing together on offshore ledges. If a close observation can be made, preferably with binoculars, it is the head shape and features that can quickly differentiate the harbour seal from the grey seal. The grey seal has a much straighter forehead to give it a "horse-head" or "Roman nose" look and the nostrils have a wide set parallel 'll' pattern when you see the head direct on. The harbour seal face has a much more "spaniel puppy-like" profile and the nostrils are 'V' or heart-shaped if seen direct on. The pelage patterns and colours can be helpful, as well, but vary between individuals and both seals look grey when wet.

The adult harp seal is unmistakable with its black partial hood and the dark harp or saddle marking on its back with the rest of the animal quite white. It is in-between the grey seal and harbour seal in size at approximately 5-1/2 feet long and 285 pounds. The shape of the head is pointed and fine-featured, not at all the horse-head shape of the grey seal or the spaniel head shape of the harbour seal.

As mentioned, it takes four-plus years for the harp seal to mature and the pelage will vary until then.

The harp seal is well known to most folks after the very controversial challenge to the harp seal hunt off the coast of Labrador and the Magdalen Islands in the 1970 and 1980s that led to a public outcry in the European Economic Community and a ban on the imports of products made from white coat harp seals. As Europe had been the major market, the large-scale commercial hunt was dramatically reduced by 1987.

The harp seal is the most numerous seal in Eastern Canada and the outcry may have been more emotionally driven than for true conservation measures. The harp seal population has increased because of decreased hunting and this may well be part of the reason we are seeing more harp seals in Shediac Bay. Changes in the distribution of their food and pack ice may also play a part in this distribution.

The harp seal is the most abundant seal in Eastern Canada with the population suspected to be in the 5-6 million range at the moment. The annual harp seal hunt tended to keep the population at a sustainable balance. With potential overpopulation, the potential for disease and inadequate food supply create challenges. This is often Mother Nature's way of controlling the challenges of overpopulation. Overpopulation will also potentially force harp seals further south than the habitat they have evolved/adapted to inhabit.

Watching a seal may be very intriguing to us landlubbers, however there are some "very important" things to bear in mind. Seals are wild animals and it is very wise to be completely aware of that in an encounter. They may look awkward on land or ice, but rest assured they can move faster than most people realize. If they become startled or fearful, they will attack anything they feel may endanger them, particularly if an escape into water is not immediately available. When watching a seal, do it with binoculars or stand well away. Be very careful to keep children and pets well away and always resist the temptation to reach out and touch.

I always appreciate hearing about your seal observations, especially those that you may note hauled out on the ice in the area over the next months. There just may be more harp seals in the area than those that get reported.

* Nelson Poirier, from the Moncton area, is a veterinarian by trade and a naturalist by nature. His column appears each Saturday and he can be reached at P.O. Box 25091, Moncton, N.B. E1C 9M9 or e-mail nelson@nb.sympatico.ca.