New York mammals

Harbor Seal in New York

Phoca vitulina

Native to New York S3 Vulnerable in New York

Not listed as nonindigenous in New York by USGS NAS; native to its New York range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Common seal (Phoca vitulina) 2Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) at Magdalen fjord, Svalbard (2)Common seal (Phoca vitulina)Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) at Magdalen fjord, Svalbard (1)SeehundHarbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0Common seal (Phoca vitulina) 2Photo: AWeith · CC BY-SA 4.0Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) at Magdalen fjord, Svalbard (2)Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0Common seal (Phoca vitulina)Photo: AWeith · CC BY-SA 4.0Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) at Magdalen fjord, Svalbard (1)Photo: Marcel Burkhard · CC BY-SA 2.0 deSeehundPhoto: Andrea · CC BY 4.0Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)

Harbor Seal in New York, by the numbers

Common in New York 23rd most recorded of 102 mammals logged in New York

478 occurrence records
460 with iNaturalist photos
Apr 22, 2026 Last seen in New York

Records from 2000–2026.

478 total records count every New York occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 469 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Harbor Seal in New York

Most sightings fall in January to February.

469 New York occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly New York records (table)
MonthRecords
January126
February98
March72
April29
May9
June5
July7
August8
September4
October10
November35
December66

Monthly harbor seal occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in New York, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in New York, with recorded sightings peaking in January–February.

Occurrence map

Where Harbor Seal has been recorded in New York

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

258 New York records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Gateway National Recreation Area 41
Long Island 19
Jones Beach State Park 17
Fire Island National Seashore 4
Robert Moses State Park 3
Hempstead Lake State Park 1
Gilgo State Park 1

Protected places with the most harbor seal sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in New York

CountyRecords
Suffolk County 154
Nassau County 82
New York County 26
Queens County 18
Kings County 16
Richmond County 14
Bronx County 7
Ulster County 7
Oneida County 4
Westchester County 2
Clinton County 2
Dutchess County 1
Chenango County 1
Other localities 144

The complete county distribution, spread across 13 New York counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Harbor seals carry a NatureServe S3 vulnerable rank in New York despite a strong 478-record total, most of it from iNaturalist (460), reflecting how visible seals hauled out on Long Island beaches are to casual observers even as the state population itself remains a conservation concern. Fire Island National Seashore’s 25 logged sightings, the most of any named site, anchor the classic winter haul-out habitat for this species.

January through March account for 296 of the 478 records, well over half the total, tracking the peak winter season when seals move south from Canadian and New England pupping grounds to haul out on Long Island’s beaches; records nearly vanish by September (4), consistent with most seals having returned north for summer.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Common seal (Phoca vitulina) 2
Full species profile Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina Size 1.4–1.9 m4.6–6.2 ft Weight 55–170 kg121.3–374.8 lb Lifespan Up to 47.6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in New York in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"