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Harp Seal, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, 2004

A young harp seal tests the frigid waters in Canada's Gulf of St. Lawrence. Once the object of a bitter controversy between sealers and animal-welfare groups, import restrictions on their pelts and Canadian laws protecting seal pups have helped populations of these charismatic sea mammals recover.

(Photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Harp Seals: The Hunt for Balance," March, 2004, National Geographic magazine)

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Photograph by Brian Skerry