Canadian Harp Seals migrating south. Artic too warm

Canadian Harp Seals Showing Up In U.S. Waters

Scientists: Seals Migrating Further South Than Usual

PORTLAND, Maine -- Harp seals from Canada are showing up in U.S. waters in greater numbers and farther south than usual, and biologists want to know why.
Small numbers of juvenile harp seals are typically found each winter stranded along the coast of the northeastern United States. But this year, well over 100 adult harp seals - not juveniles - have been spotted, said Mendy Garron, regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Gloucester, Mass. The sightings are reported by 14 seal stranding and rehabilitation organizations in New England and the Middle Atlantic.
"In some areas they're reporting three times the normal number of sightings," Garron said. "This year, we've had four sightings of adult harp seals in North Carolina, which we've never had before. We typically don't see them that far south."

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In this Jan. 27, 2009 file photo, a juvenile harp seal rests on an ice covered dock next to a seagull in Boston Harbor, in Boston. Harp seals are typically born on pack ice in the Maritime Provinces of Canada and are sometimes found along the coast of the Northeast United States.