365 Urban Species. #221: Harbor Seal
Photo by urbpan. Location: Discovery Park, Seattle.
Urban species #221: Harbor seal Phoca vitulina
In the late nineties, when Boston Harbor was a much less pleasant sight than it is today, a dear friend saw a seal swimming in the greasy water. Concerned, she called the New England Aquarium to report an unusual wildlife sighting. They assured her that the harbor seal is an animal that one might expect to see in a harbor, even Boston's. Any northern coastal area unpolluted enough to have some fish swimming in it is likely to have harbor seals. Harbor seals feed on several kinds of near-shore fish, as well as squid, crabs, and mussels. Four different varieties subspecies of harbor seals occur along different coasts North of the equator on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Harbor seals vary in color from very light cream and gray tones, with dark spots, to darker solid brown.
Because harbor seals and humans both value protected coastlines, these animals have been affected by human use of the land for centuries. Humans compete with seals for fish, sometimes with huge nets that entangle them. Polluted water depletes their food supply, and human presence on beaches and tidal flats discourage them from hauling out on land to rest. Arctic people have hunted them for thousands of years, as well. Harbor seals have a fairly small range compared to other marine mammals, staying 15 to 60 miles within shore.
Harbor seals can be seen in the waters of New York City, as well as Boston. They are found all along the Pacific Coast, including the cities of Vancouver and Seattle, as well as San Diego and San Francisco, where they coexist with urban California Sea Lions. Hokkaido, Japan and northern Europe are also home to this seal, variously called common seal, spotted seal, and harbour seal. It can be a delightful experience, to walk along a harbor or other urban waterway, and see the head of a large mammal, with huge brown eyes looking back at you.