Ribbon seal

How it lives

Ribbon seals haul out on pack ice to give birth, molt and rest. A single pup is born far offshore on seasonal ice over about 5 to 6 weeks from April to early May. Pups have white natal fur, shed after about a month, and the adult bands develop gradually by about age four. Pups are weaned after 3 to 4 weeks. Adults live about 20 to 30 years. Adults have pale bands around the neck, flippers and hips.

Where it goes

Ribbon seals live in the North Pacific and nearby Arctic seas, mainly the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk in winter and spring, with some in Alaska's Chukchi and western Beaufort Seas. They breed, molt and rest on pack ice and are mostly at sea the rest of the year. One species account puts the southern edge of the range at Hokkaido, Japan. I did not find a clear migration route.

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

NOAA Fisheries gives a range-wide estimate of 200,000 to 300,000 animals and says trends are hard to judge. Older estimates split them into Bering Sea (120,000 to 140,000), southern Sea of Okhotsk (about 50,000) and northern Sea of Okhotsk (about 320,000), from surveys between 1968 and 1990. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern (2016). In the United States, NOAA's 2013 status review found listing under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted, and it remains protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Sea ice loss is the main concern.