If you have walked by the Atlantic Harbor Seal exhibit recently, you may have seen something that only happens during this time of year. Our harbor seals are molting! Molting is a process where a seal sheds its old coat of hair as a brand new beautiful coat grows in. For much of the two to three weeks it takes to molt, our seals spend a lot of time hauled out on the rocks. It may look like they are just taking advantage of the beautiful summer weather, but staying out on the rocks serves a really important purpose.


This gives them the opportunity to rest and conserve energy as their bodies go through the molting process. During the molting season, which begins in early July and ends in early August, there are days when you may find all seven seals taking a snooze during the day. As the new hair grows in, their skin can be more sensitive, so we give the seals Vitamin E until their new coats are complete. Check out the picture above. How many seals can you find hauled out on the rocks?

The molting season is in full swing for the harbor seals. Here are some photos from the past few days of Smoke, our oldest harbor seal.

The brown areas are patches of old hair, the silver is all new stuff.

-Justin

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The air is warm, the sun is bright and the faint (and sometimes not so faint) aroma of sunbathing harbor seals fills the air. Summer is molting season.

Warm and fuzzy

The harbor seals will lose their hair soon. No need for Rogaine or Propecia, though. Our seals will replace their lost hair on their own over a couple of weeks. Since the seals rely on their hair to protect their skin they need it to be in good condition, so their coat is replaced once a year.

Sunbathing beauties

During this time they tend to spend more time out of the water. We call this "hauling out." Sunbathing promotes more blood flow to the skin and allows for a quick replacement of healthy hair. While they are molting their appetite decreases and they often aren't their usual spunky selves. Growing all new hair is hard work! By the end of August all of our harbor seals will have new glossy coats appropriate for any herbal shampoo commercial.

-Justin