There are many stages to the young harp seal's life 

• The first stage is called Yellowcoat. This occurs during the first two days of young seal life. This is when the seal is a yellowish color. The pup is thin with a distinct head and neck because they do not have much blubbler.
• After two or three days the pup loses it yellow color and goes into the stage of Thin Whitecoat. The yellow coloring gets washed off by water,rain or gets bleached by the sun. After a few more days the fat and nutrition of their mothers milk will make the pups more round and puffy. The pups soon start to become more coordinated in their movements.
• The next stage is  Fat Whitecoat. About a week after their birth most pups have gained close to 30 lbs. Nursing will go on for five more days and in that time the pup will gain about 5 lbs a day.
• The next and final stage is called Gray coat. By this time pups are finished nursing. Their coats begin to develop gray and black spots. After the pup is fully weaned the mother simply leaves and never returns. The pup cries for a few days in hopes its mother will return. Then realizes that its mother is gone and they becomes very silent.