Female seals give birth to a single pup once a year. Only the females care for the pups, which may be born on beaches, rocks, or even ice. Hundreds or thousands of seals may pup in the same area. It is important for a mother to clean up and listen to h er own pup when it is born. Then she can recognize its smell and squeal when she returns from a fishing trip.
Pups born on the Arctic ice, like harp seals, have quite a shock at birth.
They go from a warm mother to temperatures that may be below zero. They are born without blubber, but some kinds have a thick fluffy baby coat of fur which holds in heat. A new adult coat soon replaces the first coat of fur. The pups must learn how to swim and catch their own food by themselves. If the young seals avoid getting eaten by killer whales, sharks, and polar bears, and stay healthy, they may live between 20 and 25 years.