Harp Seal

From special tears that protect their eyes in salty seawater to their migrations for feeding and giving birth, harp seals have many special adaptations for thriving in their freezing home. Find an explanation for how harp seals survive in the Arctic on each page of this vibrant title!

The Arctic is a land of ice and snow, a harsh world that seems ill-suited to young animals. Yet it is here that harp seal pups are raised. They must quickly learn how to fend for themselves, for in less than two weeks after birth they are weaned from their mothers and are forced to live on their own. Matthews and Guravich trace the life cycle of these fascinating animals who are true Arctic survivors. Full-color photos.

On the gleaming white ice, a little seal pup dozes in the sun. Her fluffy white fur camouflages her and helps her stay hidden from enemies. Soon the pup's mother will return from her fishing trip in the ocean. Then the hungry pup will enjoy feeding on her mom's rich milk. Filled with information perfectly suited to the abilities and interests of its primary-grade audience, this colorful, fact-filled book gives readers a chance not only to learn all about harp seals and how their bodies are adapted to the extreme cold, but also to develop their powers of observation and critical thinking. Built-in activities, such as describing the different stages of a seal pup's development will give readers a chance to gain, insights beyond the facts and figures.

In Harp Seal Pups, emergent readers learn how harp seal pups are born white to blend in with snow and ice and how they grown up to swim and catch fish in the Arctic. Carefully crafted text, high-frequency words, repetitive sentence patterns, and strong visual references support emergent readers.

Photographs of a mother and baby seal and how they survive on the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Educational text and stunning full-color photographs introduce readers to harp seals. They will learn many exciting facts about the various stages of a harp seal's life. Reader-curiosity about this adorable marine mammal is sure to be satisfied.

This title takes readers to harp seal habitats to understand why harp seals are at risk, what humans are doing to make matters worse, and the ways humans can help to save harp seals and ultimately, Earth. Sidebars, maps, and a glossary enhance readers' understanding of this topic. Additional features include a table of contents, an index, and a fact sheet. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Checkerboard Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

The Saqqaq Culture site Qeqertasussuk (2400-1400 BC) is situated in the south eastern corner of Disko Bay, West Greenland. The site was excavated between 1983 and 1987 by Qasigiannguit Museum. The stratified cultural deposits are exceptionally well preserved by permafrost and yielded hundreds of thousands of animal bones, feathers, plant remains, insect remains, wooden implements, and a wealth of other organic refuse as well as stone tools, house ruins, stone set fireplaces and other traces of habitation. In order to understand the life conditions of the inhabitants at Qeqertasussuk, a comparative survey of the historic distribution, density and availability of the living resources in the area is undertaken. This resource model is then evaluated against the paleo-environmental data. Also, comparative ethnohistorical and ethnographic data on the exploitation of the living resources in the area is presented. Subsistence and subsistence change at Qeqertasussuk is studied through a comprehensive analysis of the faunal material that consists of more than 200,000 animal bones. Quantitative methods are supplemented by detailed studies of seasonality and age composition of the hunting bag. Forty three species of animals are represented. Harp seal and ringed seal represent the most important game, but sea birds such as fulmar, Brünnich's guillemot, and little auk also play a significant role in the subsistence economy. Fish, especially Atlantic Cod, have been caught and remains of large whales indicate that these animals were utilized, but it can not be decided whether they were actively hunted. Most of the game was taken close by the site, however finds of caribou indicate that inland caribou hunting was undertaken and that Qeqertasussuk was part of a larger subsistence-settlement-system. Several species of plants were also utilized. Temporal changes in the composition of the faunal material indicate that significant changes occur in the subsistence at Qeqertasusuk. Four phases are identified: (1) Basecamp period I (2400-2100 BC). A pioneer phase where the site is used as a year-round base camp with more than 90% of the biomass being harvested within an area of approximately 80 km2, (2) Base-camp period II (2100-1900 BC), which seems to be the period of most intensive use and where new methods (probably netting) of harp seal hunting are introduced, (3) Hunting camp period (1900-1700 BC), where the site becomes more specialized and more seasonal with a focus on spring-summer hunting for harp seals, (4) high activity period (1700-1400 BC) indications of continued heavy sea mammal hunting. The site was abandoned around 1400 BC. The causes of the abandonment of Qeqertasussuk is discussed and the impact of the general cooling around 1500 BC on key resources such as harp seal and capelin is highlighted.

A delightful and amusing collection of the personable baby harp seal.