| Return of the harp seal pup HD Entry on cuteoverload.com: http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/05/wot-a-baby.html This is a harp seal pup (Pagophilus groenlandicus) making some noise and eating snow. Newborn harp seals have yellow fur, which turns white within a few days, hence the name whitecoat. Nursing lasts for about 12 days. Pups grow rapidly, at the end of nursing, most pups weigh 36 kg (80 lbs) or more. The mothers then leave their fully-fed pups and join the bulls to mate. At this age of about 12 days, pups first become "greycoats", as grey juvenile coloring grows under their white fur, then "ragged-jackets" when white fur begins to fall out in patches. Tags: cute animal harp seal pup whitecoat newborn baby noise marine mammal ice snow cold polar atlantic greenland sea west |