Harbor seal
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Conservation Status: Least Concern (Population stable)
Photo Credit: Blake Matheson/Creative Commons
Facts: If you have ever walked along the shore and seen a head popping out of the water, chances are you saw a harbor seal. Since they can be found on the Maine coast year-round, you may ask, how do they keep warm in the cold winter months? They have thick body fat called blubber that can make up as much as 30% of their mass!
While they do not move well on land, they are powerful swimmers, using their streamlined bodies to dive to depths of up to 500 feet, and can remain underwater for as long as 30 minutes. These creatures are not picky eaters, eating a variety of prey including squid, fish, octopus, shellfish and crustaceans, including lobsters β a true Mainer!
Harbor seals spend only part of their lives in the water and they come to land to rest before going back to the sea. You may also see them on land regulating their body temperature, giving birth, molting, interacting with other seals or raising their pups. In Maine, seals produce pups from April to June. Donβt be alarmed if you see a seal pup resting on the sand without an adult in sight, as it is not usually a concern, but please report any injured or stranded seals to the Maine Marine Animal Reporting Hotline at (800) 532-9551. To give any stranded marine mammal the best chance, always keep yourself and pets back at least 150 feet, do not approach, touch or harass, as this leads to stress, injury, and abandonment (and is illegal)!
The Maine harbor seal population is healthy, but they are still threatened by human impacts, including water pollution, habitat destruction, entanglement in fishing gear and boat traffic.
Sources: What to Do If You See a Stranded Seal, https://www.nrcm.org/nrcm-creature-feature/harbor-seal, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/harbor-seal