Talk:Harp seal

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): DanteCapone, WaziyaHawk, Aimaguire, Taylorvance336. Peer reviewers: Smalljohan.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 23:06, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Peer Review

All of the added information to this article has been good. Maybe add some more pictures, besides that didn't see anything off.--Smalljohan (talk) 22:03, 4 June 2018 (UTC)

Vandalism

I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with making changes to this page, so apologies for breaking any rules. The article has been vandalised in the first paragraph, with the term, "penis pump" inserted where I suspect some other term should be. I don't know what it should be so I'll leave it to wiser heads than mine to fix it up. Thanks 121.223.128.109 (talk) 23:05, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Wow, nice spotted. The vandalism's been there since November 18 2007, and nobody's noticed before you. Good job, 121.223.128.109. (I removed the vandalism, the correct word is "fur".) Bib (talk) 23:26, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Controversy

Whichever side of the controversy you're on, you have to admit it's extreme. The most controversial hunt by far of anything in the world, the closest I can think of is the whale hunt that the Japanese go on.

So saying something about the controversy in the seal hunt section would be a very good idea. Leaving it out is deliberately leaving out a huge thing about the hunt: I live in Canada and every hunting season there is a giant media festival and renewed opposition to the hunt. Basically all Canadians oppose it, but the 7000 hunters obviously don't. Just wish they would stop embarrassing all Canadians internationally.

There is no seal controversy the vast majority of Canadians, if not the the vast majority of people period, couldn't care less about the seal hunt. That giant media festival only comes up when the hunting season is happening because the people who protest are all about money. And unless you have a source for that "Basically all Canadian oppose it" nonsense I'd say your making it up. TrueMetis (talk) 05:17, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

I was going to revert the discussion, but read the paragraph first

Whomever wrote the previous piece sounds like a 4 year old with a learning disability. I was going to revert it but it is so dammed funny.

Harp seals are ding, lol Dying maybe. "I like harp seals they are so cute, cuddly, soft, snow white, and black eyes and the hunters kill them before they can hit them with what ever they have in there hands" Yeah, harp seals a) Have hands and b) can throw stuff at people with them. Pfft.

"cry and when the hunters see that they just kill them for nothing" I think they are crying because hunters are killing them. I think Harp Seals could care less about why they are being killed.

"They take harp seals furry off" Is that like a Chubby? If it is, I feel sorry for the seals.

"harp seals don’t harm no body they keep to they self and it’s not like harp seals go up to them and start biting them they don’t do that to people like us they just play around with their parents and call it a day" Call it a day LOL.

"but do you know how many harp seals they have killed for my opinion more then 10 million harps for my opinion" I see you are in the habit of using your opinion to calculate the amount of killed seals. In my opinion, grade 5 must have been the best 5 years of your life, for my opinion.

"but they killed a lot of harp If you just watch the video tape you will see how it fills to see that it makes me sad to see that harp seal die they just leave them for dead" A) Use periods and or semi-colons, you make no sense.

Anyway I think anyone would have a field day deconstructing that. --Kirkoconnell 16:12, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

That is kind of a weird paragraph, but regardless... It says "females 1-155 years old"...can someone correct that? I can't imagine what it was referring to...155 months? (too exact) 15 years with a double-typed 5?

I love harp seals. They are my most favorite animal ever. The hunter who kill them must be stopped. They skin them before they are even unconious and leave them to suffer after they shoot them

Oh man, this is better than the Mermaid talk page

Amazing. Simply amazing. Please keep it there. Lord Spase Peepole 18:16, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Average can be up to...

Average lifespan for a harp seal can be up to 35 years.

Okay, does that sound mathematically curious to anyone else? - Eric 08:17, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

Suggestions for expansion

Could something about their adaptations be added?

--Anonymous

what kind of loser goes to mermaid talk

Bob

The harp seal is so dam cute--24.3.75.81 (talk) 00:21, 21 January 2014 (UTC)Italic text By the use of the word "crule" you are obviously a 6 year old who has no idea about the need to have a balance in the ecosystem. Sure seals are "cute" and it is unfortunate that they need to be culled, but the hard reality is that there aren't enough natural predators to keep their population under control. Their current population is already enormous and if seals were just left alone in only a few years their population would grow to such proportions that they would completely decimate the entire fish population off the coast of Labrador. And just for the record, seals of all ages are culled, not just pups, and they are not culled "just for their fur," the main reason is to keep their population under control, as mentioned above. In any case, all parts of the seals are used, their meat, their blubber, and they even make omega-3 supplements from their oil. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.22.95.120 (talk) 04:43, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

they are just sooooo adorable —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.106.244.176 (talk) 16:02, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

And you have no obvious knowledge of ecosystem or balance of it. they certainly dont need to be culled and if they took part of their things such as meat and oil then obviously they arent hunted just for culling now would they? since "it would be a waste" is merely an excuse to take it. statistic fabrications by lobbying corporations to hunt seals obviously wouldnt be anyfar off the mark anymore than the gun lobby or military industrial complex lobby to excuse to sell guns or start wars.77.53.219.2 (talk) 08:21, 18 August 2013 (UTC)

Re: Population

Not being an expert on the species, I would ask anyone who is to review this section of the article. If one population is genetically distinct from the other two major populations, does this suggest that there are at least two sub-species? In any case, I found this section a little vague and not entirely clear as to the nature of the populations discussed. Otherwise the article itself looks so good I hestitate to make any but the most tiny edits for grammar, typos and the like.

One more note. Perhaps the discussion of the range of the harp seal should be updated to reflect such increases in contact as have been documented by CRESLI (Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island)? See: CRESLI's Seal Page[1] for a brief mention of sightings as far south as Long Island, NY. Other linked sources also mention sighting as far south as coastal France. It seems unclear whether the increase in range is a result of reductions in the seal hunts or perhaps a result of the decline in fisheries the seals depend on for food. Also unresolved is the allocation of cause -- are the fisheries depleted by human overfishing or do (as some fishing interests claim) the seals also bear some of the responsiblity for declining populations?

As I've said, I'm far from an expert on these issues and would prefer to see an informed and well-balanced presentation of facts here, rather than supposition based just on what the various interests would like to believe. In that vein, acknowledgement of sources for the various points of view is probably essential.

--Ebbixx 23:16, 24 January 2007 (UTC)

I'm not much an expert in harp seals specifically either, however genetic distinction may not necessarily imply a subspecies. For mangement, groups may be divided into genetically distinct segements, but they may not be different enough to warrant calling them subspecies. Thus, for instance, Steller sea lions are clearly divided into a eastern and western stock (and a weaker division in the western stock into cetral west and Asian), but no one suggests they are different enough to be called subspecies. My experience is that individuals have to be morphologically distinct to be catagoriezed as subspecies (there are criteria in that article which may be different from actual practice, however).

With regard to their conservation, I don't really know what the hypothesized causes of declines are. Usually there is a great deal of debate around such issues, so I would guess it is not clear cut, but I have no experience with this animal. --TeaDrinker 01:52, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

To Teadrinker -- If I've read the sources right, the suggestion seems to be that the overall populations of harp seals are actually on the increase, total population estimates somewhere around 200 million, if memory serves. While the most recent years have seen some recordbreaking hunts (20-30% more seals taken than in prior record high years, totaling perhaps as high as 100,000 in all three populations combined), in the late '90s the hunts apparently yielded far fewer individuals, but not necessarily because of any marked decline in population. Suggested factors in the decreased kills were increases in fuel and ammunition costs, and declines in the prices hunters could expect from sale of the pelts, possibly in part because of a lowered demand due to consumer sympathy for "cute creatures" and also some increased restrictions on marketing pelts. The last being especially the case for suckling "whitecoats" which are almost entirely 2 months old or younger.

Where conservation concerns have been raised has been in illegal hunting of suckling individuals, these having a disproportionate impact on likely future populations and the ability of the populations to regenerate their losses from the hunts. This is, of course, assuming I've not misread the sources (mostly those cited in this article or in the citations of mostly conservation-minded organizations). —Ebbixx 15:42, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

Life of a Harp Seal

Is this detailed explanation of the entie life cycle necessary? It also seems like it is quoted from an external source verbatim; are there copyright problems here? Makerowner 03:19, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Cleanup

This article is a mess. It looks like someone just took an article from somewhere else and pasted it at the end of the article that was there before. I haven't been able to find where it comes from though. Anyway, I think the whole section on the life cycle should be deleted. Makerowner 03:51, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

I went ahead and changed it actually. I removed all of 64.19.163.130's edits from 25 January, so it looks like a real article now. Makerowner 04:02, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Copied and Pasted Information

I have added the Copyright Infringement tag as some of the information seems as if someone has copied and pasted information from a source. (previous Population section)
I've split this up into more relavent sections such as Diet and Breeding, however, it still needs attention.
Taipan198 15:18, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for catching it; did you find another location which was a likely source, or what is the basis for your suspicion? --TeaDrinker 00:32, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

I started this article in 2004 and have participated in developing it later. I have also written large parts of the population section and those parts are definitely not copied from elsewhere. The primary sources are placed in the reference list, but the information given in the article is also based on standard scientific knowledge related to harp seal populations. When placing a tag like this on an article it has to be based on somewhat more than a feeling a reader gets when looking at a text. More concrete evidence should be found than a bare feeling. I don't know what is the basis for the accusation from Taipan198. I therefore repeat the question from TeaDrinker: What is the basis for your suspicion? ----Arnejohs 06:27, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Inuit

The article goes from discussing the hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to mentioning the Inuit also hunt them - this is confusing. There are no Inuit in the Gulf regon are but there are Innu. Did the original writer mean Innu?MikeR1854 (talk) 05:52, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

errors in the page

there are broken references -- somebody should probably fix them 84.191.195.76 (talk) 19:52, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Temporary semi-protection

Should the article get a temporary semi-protection (only administrators can apply this.) Check the history of the article, it keeps getting vandalized. Bib (talk) 10:09, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Picture

surely someone has a copyright free image of a harp seal lying around somewhere? It's the most well known seal, just about, but there's no image of it on the page (or in the commons), only some drawings. Shoombooly (talk) 16:07, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Now there is the picture of a pup. Very cute and better than nothing, I guess, but not really useful to have an idea about how does an adult looks like ;) could somebody find and post the pictur of a grown individual? 80.219.210.101 (talk) 21:05, 24 April 2010 (UTC)

I agree. I called up this article hoping to find what an adult harp seal (with the harp marking that gives it its name) looks like. Surely someone out there must have a more suitable image? TonySever (talk) 21:37, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

Usually because of dimorphism in the pinniped articles we put the male and female adults as the top reference picture, but since there's only a subtle difference between the adults, I think anything that shows the full body out of water would improve the article. The whitecoat phase of the harp is for such a short time that it shouldn't be the main picture if we find a quality adult reference. BaShildy (talk) 06:29, 7 March 2011 (UTC)

INFO!!!

20:25, 29 May 2008 (UTC)20:25, 29 May 2008 (UTC)~ Ok i'm new to wikipedia but this page about the harp seal is wrong i have seen tons of sites and this is wrong and i am telling a kid not to beleve this. go to http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/harp-seal.html for good info. I like wiki pedia but it needs updating

And what exactly is wrong? Shoombooly (talk) 21:45, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Predators

I don't think we should have walruses as predators in this article, they may kill harp seals but that doesn't make them predators. Shoombooly (talk) 21:47, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

Um....actually, it does: Predator Empath (talk) 16:06, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

I think we should tell more detail about the subject because people want a good website. B.T.W. I'm a kid who talking.2602:304:B2A1:32D0:4D9B:DC0B:44DD:99C5 (talk) 01:40, 27 March 2015 (UTC)2602:304:B2A1:32D0:4D9B:DC0B:44DD:99C5 (talk) 01:39, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Harp Seal Development

The Article claims the Harp seal is unable to swim or find food until it is 7-8 weeks old, but the DFO claims that by the time they are killed but hunters they are full independant animals. The DFO website says under the Frequently asked question section of the seal page. "Seals cannot be legally hunted until they have moulted their first coats and are living independently from their mothers. Seals are not usually harvested until they reach about 25 days old." http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/seal-phoque/faq-eng.htm#_8

I also have a problem with the claim the hunt isn't sustainable as the harp seal population has been increaseing according to the DFO.

I don't have access to the source of these claims so I can't look through it for validity, but I'm inclined to trust the DFO. Any Ideas on what should be done? TrueMetis (talk) 22:35, 21 May 2010 (UTC)

Not endangered

I've reverted this edit which contradicted its source; the seal is rated LC rather than EN. Please keep an eye on this, as it's a serious difference and Wikipedia should not be spreading disinformation on the subject. —INTRIGUEBLUE (talk|contribs) 11:36, 27 May 2010 (UTC)

Total Allowable Catch.

In the hunting section it talks about how the TAC is higher than the "sustainable catch" but the Harp Seal population has continued to increase so this is clearly wrong. The Northwest Atlantic harp seal population is estimated at 8-9 million according to the DFO. So should this part of the section be deleted? TrueMetis (talk) 03:37, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

References

They Spend Only a Little Time on Land?

Seriously? With all of the photos and video of harp seals playing on the snow, National Geographic is going to write that one sentence, and Wikipedia is going to continue the falsehood? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Iamcyclops (talk • contribs) 00:24, 19 June 2013 (UTC)

External links modified

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Recent Updates

Hi All,

I've made some updates on the page that I would like to explain. Let me know what you think and if you have any concerns.

Reworded anthropomorphic language including “it ‘cries’ to remove its tears,” “the mothers abandon their babies,” “adults express themselves” and “the seal prefers.”

Added conversions to pounds in parenthesis after kilograms to stay consistent through the article.

Added material on stranding, rehabilitation, eye rings, labeled line coding, twin births, defense mechanisms, and a new section on diet. New pictures added.

Updated citations for some facts which were not cited. Updated adult weights, lengths, lifespans and breeding season dates to agree with sources.

I added material on stranding, rehabilitation, eye rings, labeled line coding, twin births, climate change effects on pup mortality, defense mechanisms, and a new section on diet.

General fact-checking throughout the article.

Appreciate any input, thanks! TheRedHusky (talk) 18:00, 18 April 2018 (UTC) Hi, in your section about thermoregulation, I think it would really help to tie the section together if you included the upper critical temperature. I see that you includede the lower critical temperature and I just thought it would make sense to include it.--Daneeb129 (talk) 06:45, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

Hey Daneeb129, thanks for the suggestion I tried looking through scholarly articles but couldn't find it for some reason — Preceding unsigned comment added by Taylorvance336 (talk • contribs) 06:48, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Environmental physiology

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 22 August 2022 and 5 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): GuwopC98 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Jbrian7.

— Assignment last updated by Jbrian7 (talk) 03:13, 10 October 2022 (UTC)