Harp seal pup at the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada (© Mitsuaki Iwago/Corbis)

【February 11 2014】The white, fluffy coat of the harp seal pup lasts for only a couple weeks. The newborn seal needs the fur to keep it warm on the ice during the short nursing period it has with mom. Around the time the white coat gives way to a sleeker gray coat, mom leaves and the pup is left on the ice for three or four more weeks before it learns to swim and hunt on its own. That gray pelt eventually includes darker spots and the harp-shaped marking on its back that inspired the seal's common name.Explore breathtaking Gallery from the HuluTrip homepage over the past 5 years..