WCSH and other TV outlets feature story on harp seal pup's stay at MARC

WCSH 6 News (Portland) ran a feature story on Stef, the harp seal pup that is being cared for at the University of New England Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center. Stef's birth in Maine was a surprise, since harp seals generally give birth to their pups on the ice in northern Canada, or Greenland. And now scientists are worried that MARC might be seeing more and more pups like her.

The WCSH story explained that the harp seal population has been growing in Canada, while its icy habitat has been shrinking, and so has its food source. Scientists don't know whether the changes are related to climate change or not, but the result appears to be that the seals are travelling further south to find food. UNE Associate Professor James Sulikowski, Ph.D., says that change in migration patterns is important to study because could eventually affect Maine's fishery.

The story was also picked up by WHDH TV7 (Boston) and WXII 12 (Winston-Salem, NC).