Harbor seal
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
On land, a harbor seal moves by undulating like a caterpillar.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Harbor seal
- Scientific name
- Phoca vitulina
- Japanese name
- ゼニガタアザラシ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Phocidae
- Genus
- Phoca
Its Japanese name means “coin-patterned,” because its spots look like coins with a hole in them.
Its ears have no outer flaps, just holes; this is thought to reduce water resistance and keep it from losing body heat.
It swims fast by paddling with its fan-shaped hind flippers, and senses the movement of the water with its whiskers to find fish.
How the Harbor seal lives
It is active during the day. It swallows fish head first or whole. It comes ashore on rocks and beaches to rest.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebNOAA FisheriesBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: males 160–170 cm, females 150–156 cm
- Weight
- males 110–120 kg
- Diet
- Fish and crustaceans such as shrimp
- Range
- North Pacific to North Atlantic
- Conservation status in Japan
- Near Threatened (NT)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020
Where the Harbor seal has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ゼニガタアザラシ
- 简体中文
- 港海豹
- 繁體中文
- 港海豹
- 한국어
- 참물범
- Español
- Foca común
- Français
- Phoque commun
- Deutsch
- Seehund
- Português (Brasil)
- Foca-comum
- Italiano
- Foca comune
- العربية
- فقمة المرفأ
- Русский
- Обыкновенный тюлень
- Türkçe
- Bayağı Fok
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — ゼニガタアザラシChecked: 2026-11-03
- NOAA Fisheries — Harbor SealChecked: 2026-11-05
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Phoca vitulinaChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Harbor seal, look for this
- Look for the whiskers on its cheeks and above its eyes.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
上野動物園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Harbor seal
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Phocidae
MORE TO MEET
