Abstract
Phoca vitulina, the harbor seal, also known as the common seal, belongs to the family Phocidae, or true seals, within the order Carnivora. Based on genetics, harbor seals are placed in a clade with their closest relative, the spotted seal as well as the gray seal and ringed seal, Caspian seal and Baikal seal. Harbor seals inhabit temperate and Arctic regions within the Northern Hemisphere in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Three subspecies are recognized: first in the Pacific (P.v. richardii), second in the Atlantic (P.v. vitulina), and third in a freshwater lake system on the Ungava Peninsula in eastern Canada (P.v. mellonae). Harbor seals live in coastal habitats, but frequently enter freshwater rivers and inlets to forage. Although they show relatively high-site fidelity, they may also move several hundred kilometers offshore to forage for days, returning to the same or nearby haul-outs.
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