harp seal
noun
: a dark-faced seal (Phoca groenlandicus) of the North Atlantic that is a variable light gray with the male usually having a dark crescent on its back and sides
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web This herd of harp seal females hauled out and gave birth in late February, but a storm demolished the early sea ice that formed in late January and early February. 
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021 Blood paints the ice as a harp seal herd gives birth on unstable fractured sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Canada. Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021 The other two were Eloise, another young gray seal, found on the same beach as Tom, and Stewart Little, a 1-year-old male harp seal found in Ocean City. Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2021 Modeled after a baby harp seal and deliberately scaled to the weight of a human infant, Paro coos and wiggles and blinks its unnervingly expressive eyes when it is held. Kate Knibbs, Wired, 22 June 2020 Lion moms may live with their daughters for life, harp seals must cram every bit of their maternal care into less than two weeks, and many lizards never meet their offspring at all. Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 8 May 2020 In this image, Jennifer Hayes, on assignment for Traveler magazine, shows a mother harp seal coaxing her pup into the sea for a swimming lesson. Joel Sartore, National Geographic, 21 Nov. 2019 In some, like Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, wild animals (some 10,000 harp seals, such as the one below) outnumber wide-angle lenses. Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic, 26 Nov. 2019 Getting there The world of the harp seal isn’t just for professional photographers or extreme adventurers. Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic, 19 Dec. 2019 See More
Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021 Blood paints the ice as a harp seal herd gives birth on unstable fractured sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, Canada. Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 14 Oct. 2021 The other two were Eloise, another young gray seal, found on the same beach as Tom, and Stewart Little, a 1-year-old male harp seal found in Ocean City. Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2021 Modeled after a baby harp seal and deliberately scaled to the weight of a human infant, Paro coos and wiggles and blinks its unnervingly expressive eyes when it is held. Kate Knibbs, Wired, 22 June 2020 Lion moms may live with their daughters for life, harp seals must cram every bit of their maternal care into less than two weeks, and many lizards never meet their offspring at all. Brian Handwerk, National Geographic, 8 May 2020 In this image, Jennifer Hayes, on assignment for Traveler magazine, shows a mother harp seal coaxing her pup into the sea for a swimming lesson. Joel Sartore, National Geographic, 21 Nov. 2019 In some, like Quebec’s Magdalen Islands, wild animals (some 10,000 harp seals, such as the one below) outnumber wide-angle lenses. Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic, 26 Nov. 2019 Getting there The world of the harp seal isn’t just for professional photographers or extreme adventurers. Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic, 19 Dec. 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
from the shape of its markings
First Known Use
1766, in the meaning defined above