🍼 Whitecoat

Whitecoat is a newborn seal pup covered in white fur. A whitecoat is a newborn seal pup in a white coat of fur. The word is most often used for harp seal pups. They are born on the ice, and the white fur helps keep them from freezing.

The milk period of whitecoats is very short, about 12 days. But the mother's milk is very rich. At first it has about 25% fat, and by the end of nursing about 40%. That is about ten times richer than cow's milk. A whitecoat gains more than 2 kg a day and quickly builds up fat under the skin. By the end of nursing it weighs about 36 kg. During this time the mother hardly hunts and can lose up to 3 kg a day.

Nursing ends suddenly: the mother simply leaves. The pup stays on the ice and barely moves, to save its fat. A few days later it sheds its white coat. It starts feeding on its own at about 4 weeks and by then may lose up to half its weight.