Harp seal sleeping at Jones Beach, Long Island, New York

Napping away New Year’s Day. New Year's Day

While many of us may be sleeping in after late-night New Year’s Eve celebrations, this harp seal is napping just because it can. It's quiet enough here at Long Island’s Jones Beach, just 20 miles from New York City, for our sleepy friend to recuperate in the sand. Harp seals are one of five types of seals that populate Jones Beach from November to May. They travel from as far away as the Canadian Arctic and north-west Greenland to rest and feed, before making their way north again in the spring.

Harp seals can live up to 35 years as long as they aren’t hunted for their pelts, eaten by polar bears, orcas or great white sharks. They are out of harm’s way on this US beach, protected from hunters while the sharks have migrated south for the winter. So, sleep tight little friend. Here’s to a great 2022!