Image ID 400610 Photographic Services & Permissions

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Hand-colored etching after James Stewart
From: Robert Hamilton, Amphibious Carnivora. The Naturalist’s Library. Vol. 8. Mammalia (Edinburgh, 1843)
NYPL, General Research Division

Harbor Seals are widely distributed in the coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and are increasingly seen either offshore or hauled out on beaches or rocks locally. In 2001 a group, or pod, wintered on Swinburne Island, a Gateway National Recreation Area bird sanctuary off Staten Island, and in 1999 the travels of a radio-tagged seal named "Quid" were monitored during his wanderings in New York Harbor, and along Long Island.

Harbor Seals feed on fish, octopus, and squid, and can range in weight from 155 to 375 pounds, with the bulls larger than the females. The Latin name, Phoca vitulina, means "calf-like seal," and the artist has somewhat exaggerated these qualities in his charming depiction. As in most of the etched illustrations in the 40-volume Naturalist’s Library series, only the animals have been colored, both for artistic and economic reasons.

Check out the sighting log to record your interaction with some of the native New York City wildlife, such as the Harbor Seal, featured in Urban Neighbors. You may also browse the sighting log by animal, borough, park or natural area, and/or habitat to view a sighting you have submitted or to read others’ observations.