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Baikal seals mate in the water towards the end of the pupping season. With a combination of delayed implantation and a nine-month gestation period, the Baikal seals' overall pregnancy is around 11 months. Pregnant females are the only Baikal seals to haul out during the winter. The males tend to stay in the water, under the ice, all winter.
The harp seal's eyes are large for its body size and contain a large spherical lens that improves focusing ability. Its mobile pupil helps it adapt to the intense glare of the Arctic ice. Its retina is rod-dominated and backed by a cat-like and reflective tapetum lucidum, enhancing its low light sensitivity. Its cones are most sensitive to blue ...
Weddell seals are commonly found on fast ice, or ice fastened to land, and gather in small groups around cracks and holes within the ice. [11] In the winter, they stay in the water to avoid blizzards, with only their heads poking through breathing holes in the ice. [8] These seals are often observed lying on their sides when on land.
It takes roughly six weeks to complete, with seals ridding themselves of dead hair by scratching and rubbing against the sand or rocks. Seals gather to moult their worn-out winter fur on stretch ...
The Saimaa ringed seal is closely related to the Ladoga ringed seal, the populations likely became isolated from the Baltic ringed seal around the same time. The Saimaa ringed seal lives solely within Saimaa, a large freshwater lake in the regions of South Savo, South Karelia, and North Karelia in Finland. Current estimates place the size of ...
Blubber under the seal's skin helps to maintain body temperature. Females outlive males (30–35 years versus 20–25 years). Harbor seals stick to familiar resting spots or haulout sites, generally rocky areas (although ice, sand, and mud may also be used) where they are protected from adverse weather conditions and predation, near a foraging ...
During winter and spring, it hauls out on pack ice to breed, molt, and give birth. During this time, it is found at the ice front in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. [10] During the winter and spring, the ribbon seal lives in open water, though some move south as the ice recedes with warmer temperatures. Little is known about its habit during this ...
Harbor seals will soon be spreading out to beaches and waterways up and down New Jersey’s coast. We need to protect and respect these winter visitors.