Photo by @daviddoubilet A blind harp seal pup waits for its mother to return to the sea ice covering the Gulf of St Lawrence...

Photo by @daviddoubilet A blind harp seal pup waits for its mother to return to the sea ice covering the Gulf of St Lawrence. This little guy approached us and sat quietly next to us for comfort. It was very hard to watch this beautiful creature navigate without sight and to know the struggle that lay ahead. Life in the ice is extremely hard and nature is not always fair. Harp seal pups are born on the ice in late February and then the mother abandons them to go mate and migrate. The pups get hungry and must enter the sea to learn how and what to eat. Natural mortality is high in good ice years and we have seen +90% loss of all pups in the Gulf of St Lawrence during limited and weak ice cover seasons related to increasing temperatures. #TORONTO join us JAN 26 at the #ROM For Celebrating Power of Photography with @natgeo This image was shot on assignment Generous Gulf for @natgeo . With @natgeocreative @thephotosociety #ocean #baby #sad #climatechange #beauty #beautiful #blind #seal #ice #polar #extreme #canada for #MoreOcean follow @jenniferhayesig and @daviddoubilet