Arctic Harp Seals Show Up On US Beaches

[Beaverhausen]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2006/may...

OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - Canadian snowbirds aren't the only northern tourists you might meet at the beach this summer.

An increasing number of young harp seals are straying from their northern breeding grounds and showing up on U.S. beaches, biologists say. Federal researchers say 297 harp seals were reported on beaches from Virginia to Maine last year, almost double the 152 reported in 1995.

The booming arctic harp seal population in Canada, spurred by a hunting ban, and dwindling food sources such as cod are among the reasons being cited.

"This is interesting and weird," said John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace. "There has definitely been a healthy rebound in their numbers."

I found this story in this thread in the Environment forum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x54177

That thread could use some of our voices.