GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT IN FREE‐RANGING HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) PUPS FROM SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

摘要: Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are small pinnipeds that widely distributed throughout the temperate coastal regions of Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We determined birth mass, neonatal growth rates, weaning age, mass NE harbor (P. v. richardsi) during a capture-recapture study spanned nursing period (Sidney Island, British Columbia, Canada). Of 46 seal pups initially captured, 28 were classified as newborns (i. e., < 24 h old). Mean body was 11.2 ± SE 0.31 kg. Pups individually tagged recaptured period. Average daily gain 394 26 g. males did not differ significantly from females, although found with fetal pelage (lanugo) (21.4% all newborns) smaller at (9.8 0.44 kg) than non-lanugo (11.6 0.33 kg). estimated 23.6 1.2 kg mean age 32 d 1.5 d. While masses differed little published data for offshore Sable Island concolor), Columbia characterized by half longer