Seasons of the Seal - Hardcover

Bruemmer, Fred;Davies, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0942802934 ISBN 13: 9780942802931

Publisher: Northword Press, 1988

Synopsis

The baby harp seal is one of nature’s most appealing and defenseless creatures. Small wonder there was such outrage when the world learned that every year tens of thousands of baby harp seals were being clubbed to death for their pelts. In 1760, a seal hunter northern Newfound wrote of seeing the migrating seals pass, and the “filled the sea from the landwash seaward to the limit of his vision, and took ten days and nights to pass”. Some scientists believe the harp seals of all herds may have numbered ten million before the hunters came. The seal hunt has been described as “the greatest, most protracted mass slaughter ever inflicted upon any wild mammal species”. Only recently has this barbaric hunt come to an end. Now, each spring, hundreds of nature-lovers flock to the pack ice to witness the spectacle of the newborn pups. Seal tourism is a growing industry. In SEASONS OF THE SEAL, Fred Bruemmer captures the charm of the harp seal. Bruemmer’s story follows the life of one female harp seal – from her sensuous mating dance, through migration, the birth of her pup in subzero cold, and as the cycle repeats itself. He describes the harp seal pups’ early days upon the colliding, breaking pack ice; the tender moments between mother and pup in the weeks after birth; the pups’ rush to fatten and grow before the ice disappears and they are left to begin their massive 4,000-mile migration to and from the fiords of southwest Greenland. Throughout the text, Bruemmer interweaves the natural history of the harp seal and describes how the Inuit have depended upon the seal for survival. More than 135 of Bruemmer’s superb photographs capture the playful antics and tender moments of the harp seal pup and the other animals that share the arctic waters, the beautiful icy landscapes of the breeding grounds and the open water that beckons when the migration season begins. SEASONS OF THE SOEAL is a celebration of the harp seal and a tribute to all those who helped to save this beautiful

Edition details

• Publisher: Northword Press
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0942802934
• ISBN 13: 9780942802931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160