A herd of at least 69 harp seals was caught on video playing in the sea near the village Dalvík in Eyjafjörður fjord in North Iceland. The group has been hunting and playing in the fjord for more than a week, delighting locals and travellers. The video shows groups of the seals rolling around and swimming on their backs, allowing the spring sun to warm up their white bellies.
A regular guest from the Arctic
An engineer on a local fishing vessel who captured the video of the seals with an aerial drone told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the seals had been in the area since the middle of April. He said that he had counted at least 69 different individuals in the herd, although only a part of the whole group can be seen in the video he shared on Facebook.
A marine biologist who spoke with RÚV said it was not that unusual to see large herds like this on Icelandic shores at this time of year. Harp seals who breed on the shores of Jan Mayen (a small uninhabited extinct volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean north of Iceland) swim to the fjords of North Iceland in the spring and summer to hunt for capelin and herring.
Iceland a favorite destination for the Jan Mayen seal cubs
Young cubs are particularly common guests on the shores of North Iceland. The cubs are born in March, and by April they are at out at sea hunting. Iceland is a favorite destination among the Jan Mayen cubs. The harp seal is a social animal, travelling in herds. The Icelandic name for harp seal reflects this: Vöðuselur, which could translate as Herd-seal.
Previously harp seals were also frequent guests all around the coast, but due to global climate change they have completely disappeared from South Iceland.
A herd of at least 69 harp seals was caught on video playing in the sea near the village Dalvík in Eyjafjörður fjord in North Iceland. The group has been hunting and playing in the fjord for more than a week, delighting locals and travellers. The video shows groups of the seals rolling around and swimming on their backs, allowing the spring sun to warm up their white bellies.
A regular guest from the Arctic
An engineer on a local fishing vessel who captured the video of the seals with an aerial drone told the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service RÚV that the seals had been in the area since the middle of April. He said that he had counted at least 69 different individuals in the herd, although only a part of the whole group can be seen in the video he shared on Facebook.
A marine biologist who spoke with RÚV said it was not that unusual to see large herds like this on Icelandic shores at this time of year. Harp seals who breed on the shores of Jan Mayen (a small uninhabited extinct volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean north of Iceland) swim to the fjords of North Iceland in the spring and summer to hunt for capelin and herring.
Iceland a favorite destination for the Jan Mayen seal cubs
Young cubs are particularly common guests on the shores of North Iceland. The cubs are born in March, and by April they are at out at sea hunting. Iceland is a favorite destination among the Jan Mayen cubs. The harp seal is a social animal, travelling in herds. The Icelandic name for harp seal reflects this: Vöðuselur, which could translate as Herd-seal.
Previously harp seals were also frequent guests all around the coast, but due to global climate change they have completely disappeared from South Iceland.
