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NEW SEAL PUPS
Thousands of New Seal Pups to be Born Week of March 10th off Northeast Coastline March 2003 (Newstream) -- As the world prepares itself for a showdown between the U.S. and Iraq, harp seals are setting themselves to the peaceful task of getting on with their annual baby season. This week, thousands of fluffy, white baby seal pups will be born along Canada's northeast coastlines, (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) in a show of nature's true magic. Each year, female harp seals return, en masse, to their breeding grounds to give birth to new pups. The pups are born on shifting ocean ice floes, where their mothers will nurse them for the next two weeks. The birth occurs quickly, often taking less than one minute. Pups are usually born hind flippers first. While giving birth, the mother harp seal quickly spins around to sniff her pup, nose to nose. During this first contact, the mother learns the unique scent of her pup, which she will use to identify it each time she returns to feed it. A female harp seal will only feed her own pup, and nursing is almost always preceded by the female nosing the pup to confirm its identity. This sniffing of the pup prior to feeding is often described as a harp seal "kiss." But what happens to these baby seals after they are two weeks old? This pretty picture turns pretty grim. A harp seal can be legally killed as soon as it has begun to moult its white hair, around 2 weeks after birth. The seal hunt is one of the very few hunts that occurs in the spring (March -May) when young are being born. As a result, almost 95% of the seals killed in the commercial hunt are 'young of the year' - between approximately 12 days and 1 year old (Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 2001). This year, the Canadian government has sanctioned the commercial hunting of 350,000 harp seals beginning with those as young as 12 days old. Over the next three years, the Canadian government says it will allow the hunting of a total of nearly one million seals. IFAW is the global leader in the effort to protect animals and their habitats worldwide. It was founded in 1969 to protect seals from commercial hunting and, along with its 2.5 million supporters worldwide, continues to call for the end to this out dated industry. IFAW wildlife experts are currently on the ice floes off of Prince Edward Island on Canada's east coast, and will be witnessing first-hand the birth of these thousands of pups. IFAW invites its supporters and wildlife enthusiasts worldwide to visit www.ifaw.org and experience for themselves the beauty of this natural wonder, and to show their support for an end to commercial seal hunting. |
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