Policy and Conservation:
Goff Island Harbor seal habitat
Laguna Beach, CA

                   
 

Harbor seal 

Kingdom Animalia
Phyla Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Phocidae
Genus Phoca
Species P. vitulina

Spotting them in the wild
Adult male harbor seals are 4-6 ft long and weigh 110-280 lbs., with females being slightly smaller. These animals are round in the center and tapered at both ends, with four extending flippers and a blunt snout. They vary in fur color, generally being tan, brown, or gray, and some have tan, brown, gray or white ring-shaped spot patterns.

Geographic range
P. vitulina is found along temperate and arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere.

Habitat
Harbor seals live in shallow coastal waters, often found hunting and swimming through kelp forest, and hauling out on land for thermoregulation and rest

Biology
P. vitulina is endothermic (warm blooded) animals and nocturnal hunters. Despite the advantage of their thick blubber layer, the time these pinnipeds spend hunting and swimming in the ocean's cool temperatures requires them to balance it with time on land to sun themselves and maintain warmth. In addition, the time they spend on land or "hauled out" serves as a time to rest and avoid predation.

Adaptations
These animals have some very cool adaptations for life in an aquatic environment including myoglobin in their muscle fibers that bind to oxygen, bradycardia (slowing their heartrate when diving to conserve oxygen), and an insulating blubber layer.
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Conservation
P. vitulina is the most widely distributed pinniped species. While the worldwide population status of these animals is doing pretty well, at roughly 350,000-500,000 individuals, the problems they face become apparent when you observe the success of individual communities. In Laguna Beach, CA, a small community of ~30 harbor seals is negatively impacted by human interaction and a group of local conservationists are stepping in to enact change.