Common seal: appearance, habitat, natural enemies

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

The common seal is one of those few inhabitants of our planet who prefer cold to heat. In fact, that is why they can only be found in remote snowy regions. Because of this, for a long time, scientists could not study these animals properly. And only now, when progress has stepped far forward, their amazing life in the natural environment has opened up to us.

Spotted or common seal: habitat

All representatives of this species love the cold climate. Therefore, almost all seals live in the western and eastern regions of the Arctic Ocean. That is, their range extends to the Bering, Botfort and Chukchi Seas. In addition, they can be found in the coastal waters of Greenland and the Barents Sea.

As for the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, here you can also meet representatives of this species. But the colonies living in these parts are not sonumerous - the Arctic is rightfully considered the home of seals.

Spotted seal varieties

Today, the population of harbor seals has about 500 thousand individuals. All animals are very similar to each other, but scientists distinguish several special subspecies. By and large, such a classification is associated with their habitat. However, there are some external differences between representatives of different colonies.

So, the common seal is divided into the following subspecies:

• East Atlantic - is the most common, found along the coastlines of northern Europe and western Asia.
• West Atlantic subspecies - inhabits almost the entire eastern part of North America.
• Pacific colonies of these mammals populate western North America.
• The Ungava seal is a unique representative of this species, preferring to settle along fresh water rather than in the open sea.
• Island seal - lives on small patches of land scattered across the ocean off the coast of East Asia.

Appearance

What do we know about the external features that the common seal has? Photos of these animals, taken in all corners of the Arctic, allowed scientists to analyze the entire species as a whole. An interesting fact: almost all subspecies of the common seal look like purebred relatives. The only exceptions are Pacific individuals, which are slightly larger than their counterparts.body.

But back to looks. The color of seals can change throughout their life. However, most often the color of the fur varies in the limit of a reddish-gray or brown hue. At the same time, dark spots are scattered in a chaotic manner throughout the body of the animal. In particular, it is because of them that this species is sometimes called "spotted".

As for size, the average harbor seal grows up to 1.8 meters. In this case, their weight ranges from 150-165 kilograms. It should also be noted that females always have much smaller proportions than males.

Habits and habitat

Common seal prefers to settle on rocky shores along coastal waters. At the same time, he tries to avoid open areas of land, so as not to attract the attention of outsiders. An interesting fact is that, unlike their close relatives, the harbor seal does not migrate. This species stays in one place for a long time and leaves it only in case of emergency.

As for the diet, in this regard, animals are real predators. They hunt mainly in the water, because this element is their home. As their prey, they choose the least nimble fish: capelin, herring, navaga, polar cod, and so on. However, if there is no such bait nearby, seals can also eat simple invertebrates.

Seal breeding

At about the age of 5, males first show interest in the opposite sex. But females mature much faster, they have sexual activitystarts at 3 years of age. Pregnancy lasts 11 months. At the same time, only one cub is born, only in very rare cases the female can bear a couple of babies.

On average, male seals live about 25-30 years, which is quite normal for their species. "Ladies" are more fortunate, as their age limit varies between 35-40 years. Scientists cannot fully understand the nature of this phenomenon, but suggest that this is due to the reproductive function of females.

Natural enemies of seals

Many believe that the main enemy of the harbor seal is the polar bear. This statement is not entirely true. Despite the fact that the clubfoot predator really loves to hunt plump mammals, only a tiny fraction of these animals die from its paws.

Killer whales are much more dangerous. These marine predators are able to catch and eat gaping prey in the blink of an eye. In addition, only the fastest seals can escape killer whales, and then only by running ashore in time.