Baikal seal

How it lives

Baikal seals are mostly dark silvery grey above and paler below. Females give birth on the lake ice in snow-covered lairs with a hole to the water, from about February to March. Pups are born with a white woolly coat, weigh around 3 to 4 kg, and are nursed for about 2 to 2.5 months. Females reach maturity at about 3 to 7 years. Males mature later, at about 4 to 10 years depending on the source. Males can live to about 52 years and females to about 56.

Where it goes

Young seals travel widely, covering roughly 400 to 1,600 km over a season, while adults are usually solitary in winter. The lake ice gives pups protection from predators.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

It is found only in Lake Baikal, Russia. A 2000 expedition estimated about 85,000 seals, down from about 104,000 in 1994. A recent summary gives 80,000 to 100,000, roughly the lake's carrying capacity. An older source puts yearly hunting at about 10,000 seals and bycatch at about 1,000. As an ice-breeding species living in a closed lake, it may be vulnerable to future climate change. IUCN: Least Concern (listed that way since 2008; latest assessment 2016).