Today we can say with confidence that if the seal, due to a number of serious circumstances, died in the process of evolution as a species, then the planet Earth would become much poorer. Why? We will try to answer the question in this article.
After reading it, it will be possible to find out information about what a seal animal is, what is its value, what features it has, etc.
General information
The common name for aquatic mammals of the family of true seals (Caspian, ringed and Baikal) is seal.
Sea seals in Russia are distributed from the coasts of Murmansk to the Bering Strait, including in the waters of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, the White Sea and the New Siberian Islands. It inhabits the coastal parts of the Sea of Okhotsk, including its numerous bays, as well as the coasts of the Tatar Strait, Sakhalin Bay and Eastern Sakhalin. The seal habitat reaches the shores of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
There are also seals that live in fresh water. For example, the famous Russian Lake Baikal is known all over the world not only because it is the deepest and most beautiful lake. In its waters dwellthe most unique animals, which are not found anywhere else in similar reservoirs. This is a seal, which is endemic and a relic of the tertiary fauna. It is called the Baikal seal.
Description
Who are seals? These amazing mammals have a spindle-shaped body, smoothly turning into a head.
In height they reach 165 cm, and their weight ranges from 50 to 130 kg. The body of the animal contains a huge amount of subcutaneous fat, which perfectly retains heat in cold water and helps the animal to wait out large periods of food shortages, as well as stay on the water surface during sleep. They sleep so soundly that there have even been cases when scuba divers could turn them over without disturbing their sleep.
The strong skin of an animal is covered with a hard, dense and short hairline. Between the fingers they have membranes, and the front flippers are equipped with powerful claws. It is thanks to the forelimbs that the seals make an vent in the ice in order to go out after the hunt and rest on the rocks or on the ice, as well as to breathe fresh air.
The seal has a phenomenal ability to stay under water continuously for up to 40 minutes. This is due to the presence of a small volume of the lungs and the content of dissolved oxygen in the blood. Thanks to its hind legs, the animal swims quite quickly under water, but on its surface it is completely clumsy and clumsy.
Seals on Baikal
In the past, the Baikal seal was a fairly revered animal, especially among peoples involved inmostly sea hunting. Even now, some Orochi put wild garlic and tobacco in the mouths of the seals, because this is a kind of sacrifice for them to Temu, to whom the seal is most directly related, because he is the master of the sea element.
In the old days, the Baikal seal trade was of great economic importance in the life of the local population, the production of these animals was strictly limited. Compared to the skins of other seals, their fur (both pups and adults) is the best fur raw material, and therefore they are more valued.
Baikal seal habitat
In summer (June) the shores of the Ushkany Islands are chosen by a large number of these animals - the islands are a cozy natural haulout for them. At sunset, the seals begin their mass movement towards the islands.
During the severe frosts of Siberia, the lake freezes completely. Just before the onset of cold weather, seals use their teeth and front paws with sharp claws to dig breathing holes for themselves. Pregnant females usually spend most of their time on the surface of the frozen lake in winter.
About industrial production
Seal is an animal that contains great amounts of excellent fat, which has some beneficial medicinal properties. The commercial production of seals today, like hundreds of years ago, pursues the same goals.
Animal fat is effectively used by many people in the treatmentsome diseases associated with hypothermia (inflammation, frostbite), and its meat is used for food with a lack of vitamin C (in particular, scurvy).
And yet the main reasons for large-scale industrial production are the most valuable animal skins. Hats and clothes made of thick and dense fur with a durable skin are very popular both among the inhabitants of the North and in more southern regions.
Reproduction
A seal cub usually appears in mid-March. After the end of winter, the female crawls out of the water onto the ice to give birth to babies. But first, females build dens in the snow for their future pets.
Unfortunately, it is during this period that the seal faces the greatest danger - to become easy prey for numerous poachers and hunters. Most seals give birth to one baby, but maybe two, or even more.
Newborns usually weigh around 4 kilograms. They are born with very beautiful snow-white skins, providing them with warmth and the most reliable camouflage in the snow.
After molting, the seal cub is overgrown with silvery fur.
Lifespan
The growth of the seal, both in length and in weight, occurs for a long time (up to 20 years). Some animals die "undersized" because their average age in the population is only 8-9 years. There are cases that some seals live up to 40-60 years, but there are very few of them. Approximately half of all individuals are young seals of about 5 years of age. older animals(6-16 years old) make up most of the other half of seals.
Seal is an unusual animal in the sense that scientists have learned to determine its age by fangs or claws, on which you can see annual rings, similar to those found on a cut of a tree.
Food
The basis of the food of the sea seal is fish and crustaceans, which form large accumulations in the uppermost layers of the water.
The Baikal seal's favorite food is the Baikal goby and golomyanka fish. For a year, this animal consumes more than a ton of such feed. Rarely, omul, which makes up approximately 3% of his daily diet, also gets into his food.
Interesting facts
1. Long-nosed and harbor seals share the same habitat, the ocean, with elephant seals.
2. The seal is a wonderful diver, able to reach a depth of 400 meters.
3. As a rule, seals do not live in fresh water, but Lake Baikal in Russia has become a real home for some representatives of this family. How did the seal population appear in Lake Baikal? Until now, this remains a mystery. According to one legend, in these places there is some unknown underground channel connecting the lake with the ocean. Scientists have not found evidence of this fact. The most probable is the way of seals to Baikal through the Angara and the Yenisei. It should be noted that the omul fish got here in the same way.
