How harp seals came to the verge of extinction
Harp seals, the Arctic's cutest animals, are famous for their adorable pups with soft white fur and deep black eyes. Tragically, the population of the harp seals has been drastically declining in recent years due to extensive fur hunting and climate change. Though harp seals easily qualify as an endangered species, not much is done to protect and preserve the remaining population.
The numbers dropped from 330,000 in early 2000 to 128,000 in 2008, and in 2018 were down to less than 100,000. The declining number of harps seals is a part of a bigger problem: the overall revival of the Arctic. Scientists, businesses, and locals have proposed various solutions, and not all of them are favourable to the seals. So what is in store for the remaining seal population?