Seals are common in all northern seas. These are predatory mammals from the group of pinnipeds. Two subspecies (European and insular) are listed in the Red Book. The coastal waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the North and B altic Seas are also inhabited by seals.
Description of animals
The weight and length of an animal can vary greatly - from ninety-five kilograms to three tons, from one and a half to six meters. The smallest species is the ringed seal, the largest is the elephant seal. Usually the color of the animal is brown, gray or reddish. Under natural conditions, females live up to thirty-five years, and males up to twenty. The body of the animal is spindle-shaped, the head is small, tapering in front. Short and inactive neck, auricles are absent. Well defined but short tail. The front flippers are rather short (less than twenty-five percent of the total body length). They are significantly shorter than the rear ones.
Reproduction and feeding
During the mating season, seals keep in pairs. The birth of a calf usually takes place on the ice. One puppy is born. He comes to lightsighted, fully physically formed. Most often, females try to hide their cub in snow holes. Milk feeding stops when the cub is not yet able to get food for itself, therefore, from two to twelve weeks, the animals starve, surviving only due to the accumulated fat.
Baby seal: what is it called?
These are perhaps the most charming representatives of the animal world - a large head and large, wide-open eyes. In addition, these babies have snow-white fur covering the entire body. Since ancient times, the Pomors have called an adult male seal a lysun, a female - an utelga, and their cubs have been called differently, depending on age - pups, greens, serks, khokhlushkas. All these names are correct and relevant today. In the scientific literature, a small seal is most commonly referred to as a pup. And this baby is also called a baby seal.
Baby Seal: Birth
During the summer months, seals live in the Far North. In late autumn, they begin to move south. For reproduction, they choose large and durable ice floes, on which "children's haulouts" are created, which can stretch for tens of kilometers. The number of animals in such "colonies" totals tens of thousands of individuals. The pregnancy of seals lasts eleven and a half months. I must say that ice is a reliable antiseptic: very low temperatures do not allow microbes to develop. The birth of babies occurs from January to April. Most of the cubs appear from February 20 to March 5.
Green seal
A newborn baby seal got its name (or rather, one of them) due to the color of its coat. The puppy's body is covered with thick, long white hair with a greenish tint. This is where the name "green" comes from. At birth, it weighs 8-10 kilograms, and reaches a length of 92 centimeters.
White seal
The greenish tint does not last long. By the way, it is formed under the influence of amniotic fluid in the womb. After five days, it disappears completely, and the baby seal, whose photo you see in this article, turns into a charming creature of absolutely white color. At this time, he is very dependent on his mother. A female seal feeds her pup every four to five hours. Her milk is very fatty (fat is up to fifty percent). Thanks to this, every day the baby gains up to three kilograms of weight. During this period, the baby seal is very defenseless. What is its name at this time? Belek, of course.
Features of the baby seal
The seal's huge eyes are constantly watery, so it seems that the animal is crying. But this is a natural process of moisturizing the eyes. Belek, the baby seal, constantly trembles. This is due to the regulation of heat in his body. It has not yet formed a fatty layer, as in an adult animal. The coat of the pup consists of transparent hollow hairs that let sunlight pass well onto black skin, thereby warming it.
Existing delusions
Long time researchers of these animalsit was believed that the female, who needs to leave from time to time in search of food for herself, finds the seal by voice. This is not true. A baby seal has a unique scent that helps its mother find it.
It was believed that a seal cub (whose name is white-beard), which was once stroked by a person, will forever remain an “orphan”. The female will no longer approach him. This is not true. If you happen to visit the North Pole, you can stroke these charming animals as much as you like, but you need to do this with gloves, as they react very negatively to a human hand that is too “hot” for them.
And one more piece of advice. While stroking and playing with the seal, do not block it from the mother - losing sight of the cub, she can rush to the attack.
Khokhlusha seal
At the third week of life, the pup begins to shed. Under his luxurious white fur, a silvery skin becomes noticeable. For a week, such a baby seal is called khokhlusha.
Serka the baby seal
When a seal is one month old, the animal's fur changes again. It turns into the usual hard and short hairline for these mammals. The fur has a gray color, on the back it is darker. There are dark, almost black spots. During this period, a baby seal is called a serka.
Enemy of seals
The most terrible and merciless enemy of seals is the polar bear. At the end of a harsh and hungry winter, a baby seal is an excellent prey for him. The female usually does not protect the pup - what can she oppose to the hungry andan angry predator in his native element? If the ceiling above the snow hole is more than a meter, then it is difficult for the bear to find shelter, but if the hole is found, then the pup is doomed to death.
Seal hunting
Up until 2009, our country was the only one in the world where it was allowed to hunt seals. Moreover, Russia is also the main importer of products made from seal fur. Usually this is the fur of older individuals - serks.
Animal welfare
The very first organization to stand up for seals was the IFAW International Foundation. It was to protect these charming animals with valuable fur that this organization was created. The fund extends its work to the territory of Canada and Russia. Many famous people of the world joined his work. Brigitte Bardot organized a demonstration outside the Norwegian embassy in 1977. Then the President of France banned the import of products from the fur of the fur coat into the country. Therefore, it is rightly considered that it was France that was the first country to introduce special prohibition measures aimed at protecting these animals. Later, Paul McCartney joined the defenders. He flew to Canada to slaughter seals and held several charity events.
In Russia, such work began in 2008 thanks to the efforts of the public. Many famous people of our country turned to the President of the country. Elena Kamburova, Andrei Makarevich, Laima Vaikule, Konstantin Raikin, Mikhail Shirvindt and other actors, as well as scientists, artists, journalists supported the protest against the destructionpups.
In February 2009, our country introduced a complete (temporary) ban on trapping seal pups of all age groups. Vladimir Putin (prime minister at the time) was applauded by animal rights activists around the world. It was he who achieved this ban.
