Status of the Lacs des Loups Marins Harbour Seal, Phoca vitulina mellonae, in Canada

Abstract

The Lacs des Loups Marins Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina mellonae) is a subspecies that occurs in the area of Lacs des Loups Marins (Lower Seal Lakes) (56°N, 73-74°W), 160 km east of Hudson Bay, on the Ungava peninsula of northern Quebec. With the possible exception of Lake Iliamna, Alaska, it is the only known Harbour Seal population that is resident in freshwater year-round. Written references to the unique appearance and behaviour of this seal date back to 1818. The subspecies was described primarily on the basis of its unique morphology and presumed long-time geographic isolation from neighbouring oceanic Harbour Seals. Estimates of the population's size are imprecise, and range from 100 to 600 animals. Little is known of the seals' habitat requirements other than they seem to feed exclusively in freshwater, and are likely reliant on some specific environmental features such as under-ice pockets to sustain them through the winter Pupping seems to take place substantially earlier (mid-April to mid-May) than in other Harbour Seal populations at similar latitudes. The only known cause of human-induced mortality is occasional hunting by aboriginal peoples. Phoca vitulina mellonae is potentially vulnerable because of its small population size, restricted range, and susceptibility to disturbance.