harbor seal

noun

: a small hair seal (Phoca vitulina) of oceanic coasts in the northern hemisphere that often ascends rivers

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The other rescues this year include one harbor seal, two sea turtles and three Guadalupe fur seals. —

Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Mar. 2023 Not a single harbor seal. —

The Guardian, Scientific American, 11 Nov. 2021 Last September, harbor seal pups in Massachusetts and New Hampshire started to die in droves. —

Carl Zimmer, Discover Magazine, 31 July 2012 In the study, eight harbor seal pups, aged 1 to 3 weeks old, were held in a Dutch rehabilitation center where researchers checked for vocal plasticity – when an animal or person adapts their voice to changes in the environment. —

Asha C. Gilbert, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2021 Gray seals have clawed paws, more like this harbor seal paw than a sea lion's flipper. —

Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 5 Feb. 2020 In Maine, an elevated number of gray and harbor seal deaths have been attributed to the disease, while in Florida, officials believe a bottle-nosed dolphin succumbed to the virus. —

Susanne Ruststaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Oct. 2022 SealNet is tailored to identify the harbor seal, a species with a penchant for posing on coasts in haulouts. —

Sean Mowbray, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2022 In late April, the zoo began welcoming some baby booming additions to its animal kingdom, including a zebra filly, harbor seal pup, three Canada lynx kittens and four Bennett's wallaby joeys. —

Rae Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 8 June 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harbor seal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.