Ice-Loving Seals and the Loss of Sea Ice - Smithsonian Ocean
Ice-loving seals, such as harp, hooded and ringed seals, are among the many species threatened by climate change. Recent predictions suggest that warming seawater and air will melt 20 percent or more of the Arctic's ice cover in the next 40 years—a scary statistic for the many species in the Arctic that rely on seasonal ice cover for vital ...
Meet the harp seal—one face of the climate crisis - National …
Jan 23, 2024 · Harp seals are born on sea ice, which is getting thinner every year. Scientist turned photographer Jennifer Hayes documents their fight for survival.
Harp seal - Wikipedia
On ice, the seal can press its fore flippers to its body and its hind flippers together to reduce heat loss. [2] They can also redirect blood flow from the periphery to minimize heat loss. [ 10 ]
Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses - Smithsonian Ocean
Ringed seals rest and raise their pups on ice floes. Additionally, they rely on snow to dig out ice caves on the floes. These caves serve as protection against predators like polar bears and orcas as well as against severe weather.
Seals | Species | WWF - World Wildlife Fund
The ringed, ribbon, spotted and bearded seals, collectively known as “ice seals,” are Arctic inhabitants. The entire ringed seal lifecycle relies on ice and rapid ice loss in the Arctic causes seal pups to be prematurely separated from their mothers during the milking period.
Seal on ice | Videos | WWF - World Wildlife Fund
Jun 15, 2017 · Seal on ice Numbering about 360 individuals, the Saimaa ringed seal is one of the rarest seals in the world and can only be found in the Saimaa water system in Finland. WWF Finland has worked in many ways to protect the Saimaa ringed seal since 1979 and thanks to these efforts, the population of the Saimaa ringed seal, previously facing ...
Video: Killer Whales Break Ice Platform to Trap and Kill a Seal ...
Sep 12, 2022 · A new BBC documentary shows a pod of killer whales hunting a seal using a sophisticated technique. They used "wave crashing," creating a wave to break up an ice platform and trap the seal on...
Studying Ice Seals in the Bering Sea—Post #1 - NOAA Fisheries
May 9, 2024 · NOAA Fisheries scientists conduct several regular surveys and field projects on seals that make their homes on Arctic sea ice to gather information to be used to manage these seal populations. An adult male ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) rests in the sunshine on an ice floe in the Bering Sea.
Harbor Seals and Glacier Ice Habitat - U.S. National Park Service
Oct 23, 2021 · Harbor seals exhibit high seasonal fidelity to tidewater glacial fjords during the pupping and molting seasons. Understanding relationships between glacier ice and harbor seal distribution and abundance will be critical for understanding how future changes in tidewater glaciers may impact harbor seals.
Why Do Seals Need Ice? - Treehugger
May 10, 2019 · There are six species of seal in the Arctic, and four species in the Antarctic. Of these, several species such as ringed seals, bearded seals and Weddell seals are particularly dependent on the...