Parts of a Harp Seal Printable

Meet the harp seal - they live throughout the cold waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans so they are no strangers to the cold! They loves to swim in the icy cold with their flippers.

You might recognize these seals from their babies being white in color, whereas adult harp seals are a grayish brown color. Baby harp seals are called pups and they are adorable!

Do you have any ideas why their pups are white in coloring? 

Harp seal pups are born without blubber - a thick layer of fat that helps keep adult seals warm. The pups’ white fur helps them absorb sunlight and stay warm while they’re still developing blubber. Pups shed their white fur after about three to four weeks old. This is called molting.

For more information about how the white fur actually keeps them warm, make sure to check out our polar bear episode because they are very similar and we deep dive into it!

To learn more about harp seal pups, their body parts and what makes them unique - make sure to print off the 2 pages below with your kiddo(s) to learn more about baby harp seal pups.