Behind the scenes - part 3 - feeding the seals

As for our seals, they do eat a lot of fish, but the quantities vary with the seasons, and they actually have individual tastes. For example, Loki, our 19-year old harbor seal, likes a variety of fish such as herring, mackerel, and salmon.  He will even eat squid. But Snorkel, his 6-year old son, only likes herring. Our food is donated by Connors bros, the sardine factory in Blacks Harbor. Herring is called sardines once they are packed in cans. We receive large frozen herring slabs that we have to thaw in order to separate the fish and count them. Once in a while, other species of fish end up in the slab, so we always keep those ones for Loki. 

On Christmas day, I came in to feed them both (they still have to eat, no matter what day it is!), and Loki received a special gift: a rather large salmon. He really appreciated it, and it provides variety for him. Every morning, we also insert a multivitamin inside the first fish we throw them, in order to ensure they receive fresh vitamins and minerals, which are otherwise sometimes destroyed in the freezing process at the fish plant.

If the seals eat all of their fish and still look hungry at the end of the day, we increase the quantity of fish provided on the next day. If the opposite happens, and some of the fish are left over, then we reduce the quantities. Typically, seals eat a larger amount of fish in the fall and winter, in order to gain almost 100 lbs of fat to help them keep warm. In the spring and summer, they go on a voluntary diet to shed all these extra pounds, as the water around them gets warmer. Harbor seals usually weigh about 200 lbs in the summer, but can reach 300 lbs in the winter.

Seals have very keen senses, and they are easily able to find food in the wild. First of all, they have good eyesight, both on land and in the water. But when the water is murky, as it often is in the Bay of Fundy, the seals have to rely on their ultra sensitive whiskers to find the fish. The whiskers can pick up vibrations that the fish produce when swimming, and the seals can then figure out where they are, and even which fish is the fattest one to eat. They also have good ears, even though they are hard to find; next time you come and watch our seals being fed, look closely behind their eyes and you will see little holes. Harbor seals lack an external ear flap, like the kind you would see on a sea lion.