EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina), Family Phocidae
Newport Bay, Coastal Oregon, USA

Explanation:   During a mild February day, this harbor seal was found napping while afloat in a protected bay along the Oregon coast.  A half dozen other harbor seals were also assuming this posture, apparently as means of resting in a buoyant position while expending as little energy as possible, between bouts of feeding.

Harbor seals are locally numerous and common across their wide range along coastlines of the temperate and sub-arctic Northern Hemisphere.  There is wide local and geographic variation in their pelage color, morphology, physiology, and behavior.  

Harbor seal hauled out on rocks, enjoying
a rest in the hazy winter sun.

Harbor seals have been hunted over much of their range for centuries.  More recent bans on hunting have let their global population rise and remain at about half a million, although they have been greatly reduced or eliminated in parts of their range such as in Lake Champlain and Lake Ontario.  Studies have shown that rehabilitated pups have similar survival, behavior, and movement patterns as do wild pups, which is an encouraging sign that rehabilitation of stranded or orphaned pups is a viable conservation measure for the species.  

Information:
    Lander, M. E., J. T. Harvey, K. D. Hanni, and L. E. Morgan. 2002. Behavior, movements, and apparent survival of rehabilitated and free-ranging harbor seal pups. Journal of Wildlife Management 66(1):19-28.
    Reeves, R. R., B. S. Stewart, and S. Leatherwood. 1992. The Sierra Club Handbook of seals and sirenians. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA. 359 pp.