Ringed seal, ringed seal, akiba. Ladoga seals (Ringed seal): description, habitat Ringed seal Akiba
Ringed seals are small mammals from the genus of common seals. I also call them ringed seals or akibs. They got their name thanks to the interesting patterns on the back, shaped like rings. Thanks to thick subcutaneous fat these seals can withstand low temperatures, which allows them to settle in the Arctic and subarctic regions. In Svalbard, ringed seals breed on ground ice in all fjords.
In addition to the inhabitants northern seas, freshwater subspecies are also observed, which are found in lakes Ladoga and Saimaa.
Description
Akibas are small silver-gray to brown seals. Their bellies are usually gray, while their backs are darker and have a noticeable pattern of small rings, which is how they get their name.
The body is dense, short, covered with plush fur. The head is small, the neck is not long.
They have large claws more than 2.5 cm thick, thanks to which they cut holes in the ice. As is known, such burrows can reach depths of up to two meters.
Adult animals reach a length of 1.1 to 1.6 m and weigh 50-100 kilograms. Like all northern seals, their body weight varies markedly depending on the season. Ringed seals are fattest in the fall and significantly thinner in late spring and early summer, after the breeding season and annual molt. Males are slightly larger than females, and spring period Males look much darker than females due to the oily secretion of glands in the muzzle area. At other times of the year they are difficult to distinguish. At birth, the cubs are about 60 cm long and weigh about 4.5 kg. They are covered with light gray fur, lighter on the belly and darker on the back. Fur patterns develop with age.
Thanks good developed vision, smell and hearing - seals are excellent hunters.
Habitat and habits
As mentioned above, the main habitat of these cute predators is the Arctic and subarctic. Throughout most of their range, they use sea ice exclusively as a breeding, molting, and resting site. They crawl onto land rarely and reluctantly.
They lead an isolated lifestyle. They rarely gather in groups; this mostly happens in mating season, in the warm season. Then in the coastal zone you can find rookeries of ringed seals, numbering up to 50 individuals.
Their ability to create and maintain breathing holes in the ice allows them to live even in areas where other animals, also adapted to low temperatures, they cannot be there.
Despite their good adaptation to frost, ringed seals sometimes face temperature problems in the Arctic winter. In order to shelter from the cold, they create lairs in the snow at the top sea ice. Such burrows are especially important for neonatal survival.
Ringed seals are excellent divers. They are capable of diving to more than 500 m, although in the main feeding areas the depth does not exceed this mark.
Nutrition
Outside the breeding and molting season, the distribution of ringed seals is adjusted by the availability of food. Numerous studies have been conducted on their diet, and despite significant regional differences, highlight general patterns.
The main food of these animals is fish, typical for a particular region. As a rule, no more than 10-15 victims with 2-4 dominant species are found in the field of view of seals. They select food that is small in size - up to 15 cm in length and up to 6 cm in width.
They feed on fish more often than invertebrates, but the choice often depends on the season and the energy value of the prey.
Typically, the diet of the ringed seal includes nutritious cod, perch, herring and capelin, which are rich in the waters of the northern seas.
The consumption of invertebrate animals appears to be becoming relevant in summer time, and predominates in the diet of young livestock.
Reproduction
Female ringed seals reach sexual maturity at the age of 4 years, while males only reach sexual maturity at the age of 7 years. Females dig small caves in thick ice on an ice floe or shore. The offspring are born after a nine-month pregnancy in March or April. As a rule, one cub is born. Weaning off milk takes just over 1 month. During this time, the newborn gains up to 20 kg of weight. After just a few weeks, they can stay underwater for 10 minutes.
After the birth of the babies, the females are again ready to mate, usually at the end of April. After fertilization, males usually leave expectant mother in search of a new object for copulation.
Lifespan of ringed seals in wildlife, according to various sources, is 25-30 years.
Number
Available data on ringed seal distribution were compiled and analyzed as part of the 2016 IUCN Red List for the five recognized subspecies. Estimates of the number of mature individuals and population trends for each of these subspecies were as follows:
- Arctic ringed seal - 1,450,000, trend unknown;
- Okhotsk ringed seal - 44,000, unknown;
- Baltic ringed seal - 11,500, population increase;
- Ladoga - 3000-4500, upward trend;
- Saimaa - 135 - 190, increase in subspecies.
Due to the large spatial scale, it is quite difficult to trace the exact number of subspecies in the Arctic and Okhotsk. Citing many factors, such as the vast habitats occupied by the species, uneven occupancy in the surveyed areas, unknown relationships between observed individuals and those not observed, make it difficult for researchers to ascertain the exact number.
However, the above figures indicate that the number of mature individuals is more than 1.5 million, and total The population is more than 3 million individuals.
Security
Except polar bears posing the greatest danger to ringed seals, these animals often become victims of walruses, wolves, wolverines, foxes, and even large crows and gulls that prey on their cubs.
However, it was not the natural regulation of the population that caused ringed seals to be included in the Red Book, but the human factor. The fact is that, despite all the protective measures, many peoples of the north continue to hunt seals to this day as a source of valuable meat and skin.
In general, despite various programs, not a single reserve has been created in Mina in which ringed seals could freely increase their population.
The ringed seal, akiba or ringed seal (lat. Phoca hispida) is the closest relative of the common seal, which is more often found in the Arctic: according to the most conservative estimates, there are about 4 million animals in the world. The seal got its name due to the pattern on its fur, which consists of large quantity light rings on a dark background.
The average weight of an adult ringed seal can reach 100 kg with a body length of up to 1.4 m. Moreover, males are slightly larger than females. Akiba has excellent vision, hearing and smell, which help the animal find food and hide from predators in time. The body of the seal is short and thick, the head is small, the muzzle is slightly flattened, but the neck is so short and thick that it seems as if it is not there at all. 
Depending on their habitat, four subspecies of ringed seals are distinguished:
On the drifting ice floes of the Arctic Ocean you can find the White Sea ringed seal (P. h. hispida), which is considered the most widespread seal in its geographical area.
The Baltic ringed seal (P. h. botnica) lives in the coldest areas of the Baltic Sea. She liked the coasts of Switzerland, Estonia, Finland and Russia. From time to time she makes it to Germany. This is the largest subspecies of the ringed seal.
The Ladoga ringed seal (P. h. ladogensis) has settled in the freshwater Lake Ladoga. She got here about 11 thousand years ago, when the last glacial period. At that time, the huge glacier retreated, and the previous water level changed, which did not give the seal the opportunity to return to the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Today the number of this subspecies is only 2-3 thousand individuals, which is ten times less than it was at the beginning of the last century. The Ladoga seal is included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation; hunting for it has been prohibited since 1980, but this does not in the least prevent poachers.
Finally, the Saimaa ringed seal (P. h. saimensis) settled in the freshwater Lake Saimaa. She has been living here for more than 8 thousand years, but in Lately is in danger of extinction. There are a total of 310 Saimaa seals, of which no more than 70 are females capable of fertilizing. 
Ringed seals do not like noisy companies, so they never form colonies. Most often they stay alone, although sometimes they gather in small groups, which, however, are not very stable. All year round they spend time at sea, for which their body is very well adapted. 
At the age of four years, females become sexually mature. Males are capable of procreation from the age of 5-7 years. In April-May, ringed seals begin their mating period; pregnancy lasts 11 months, including a three-month latent stage. 
In March-April of the following year, females give birth to one large calf, whose body length reaches 50-60 cm and weighs about 4 kg. It is all covered with beautiful white thick fur, which lasts only a month and a half, giving way to ordinary gray wool, through which you can see the rings characteristic of the species. The expectant mother carefully prepares for the birth of a new member of the seal society: she builds herself a reliable shelter among the snow hummocks, the entrance to which is under water, so that the newborn becomes inaccessible to predators. The baby lives in his house for about two months, feeding on his mother's milk. At the same time, the female goes hunting every day. The lifespan of ringed seals is about 40 years.
Ringed seal, akiba or ringed seal (lat. Phoca hispida) is the closest relative, which is most often found in the Arctic: according to the most conservative estimates, there are about 4 million heads in the world. The seal got its name due to the pattern on its fur, which consists of a large number of light rings on a dark background.
The average weight of an adult ringed seal can reach 100 kg with a body length of up to 1.4 m. Moreover, males are slightly larger than females. Akiba has excellent vision, hearing and smell, which help the animal find food and hide from predators in time. The body of the seal is short and thick, the head is small, the muzzle is slightly flattened, but the neck is so short and thick that it seems as if it is not there at all.
Depending on their habitat, four subspecies of ringed seals are distinguished:
- On the drifting ice floes of the Arctic Ocean you can find the White Sea ringed seal ( P. h. hispida), which is considered the most widespread seal in its geographic area.
- The Baltic ringed seal lives in the coldest areas of the Baltic Sea ( P. h. botnica). She liked the coasts of Switzerland, Estonia, Finland and Russia. From time to time she makes it to Germany. This is the largest subspecies of the ringed seal.
- The Ladoga ringed seal ( P. h. ladogensis). She got here about 11 thousand years ago, when the last ice age ended. At that time, the huge glacier retreated, and the previous water level changed, which did not give the seal the opportunity to return to the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Today the number of this subspecies is only 2-3 thousand individuals, which is ten times less than it was at the beginning of the last century. The Ladoga seal is included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation; hunting for it has been prohibited since 1980, but this does not in the least prevent poachers.
- Finally, the Saimaa ringed seal settled in the freshwater Lake Saimaa ( P. h. saimensis). It has lived here for more than 8 thousand years, but recently it is under threat of extinction. There are a total of 310 Saimaa seals, of which no more than 70 are females capable of fertilizing.
Ringed seals do not like noisy companies, so they never form colonies. Most often they stay alone, although sometimes they gather in small groups, which, however, are not very stable. They spend the whole year at sea, for which their bodies are very well adapted.
At the age of four years, females become sexually mature. Males are capable of procreation from the age of 5-7 years. In April-May, ringed seals begin their mating period; pregnancy lasts 11 months, including a three-month latent stage.
In March-April of the following year, females give birth to one large calf, whose body length reaches 50-60 cm and weighs about 4 kg. It is all covered with beautiful white thick fur, which lasts only a month and a half, giving way to ordinary gray wool, through which you can see the rings characteristic of the species.
The expectant mother carefully prepares for the birth of a new member of the seal society: she builds herself a reliable shelter among the snow hummocks, the entrance to which is under water, so that the newborn becomes inaccessible to predators. The baby lives in his house for about two months, feeding on his mother's milk. At the same time, the female goes hunting every day. The lifespan of ringed seals is about 40 years.
The ringed seal, or akiba (Pusa hispida), is covered with coarse blackish-brown fur with numerous irregular white rings. The body length of an adult male is up to 1.8 m.
This is the only seal of all that builds a nest for its young. In March or April, when the ice begins to break, the female makes a burrow in a snowdrift with a tunnel leading to a vent and water. Newborns (sometimes twins) are covered with snow-white soft fur (the pup stage), which after a month gives way to darker fur.
The ringed seal appears to travel the furthest north of any mammal; It spends most of the year in ice-covered bays and fiords. In autumn, as the water freezes, the animal does not migrate south, but makes holes in the ice, to which it regularly swims up to breathe and rest. Sometimes this leads to a sad result, since a hunter with a harpoon or polar bear. Usually the seal spends 8–9 minutes under water, but if necessary, it can remain there for up to 20 minutes. When she surfaces, she manages to stock up on air for the next dive in 45 seconds.
The ringed seal is distributed circumpolarly in the Northern Arctic Ocean, reaching in the south to Labrador and the Bering Sea.
There are four subspecies of ringed seal: Ringed seal (Phoca hispida hispida); Baltic ringed seal (Phoca hispida botnica); Ladoga seal (Phoca hispida ladogensis); Seal of Lake Saimaa in Finland (Phoca hispida saimensis)
Species: Pusa hispida Schreber = Ringed seal, ringed seal, akiba
Status: In Russia, the ringed seal is a commercial target. Not a CITES subject. Only the Ladoga subspecies is listed in the Red Book of Russia (category 3).
Currently, there is no industrial production of ringed seals in Russia. Several hundred heads are caught annually by the population of coastal areas for their own needs.
The heyday of industrial production of the species in our country occurred in the 1950-60s. when annually it reached tens of thousands of individuals (for example, in 1962, 13,570 seals were caught in the Barents and White Seas alone).
Appearance, weight: An adult animal averages 1.0-1.2 m in length and 50-80 kg in weight. A newborn calf is 0.6 m in length and about 4 kg in weight. Newborn cubs have white juvenile fur, which after 4-6 weeks changes to gray with dark rings, which is how the animal got its name.
Life cycle: The ringed seal is a typical pagophilic species, i.e. her life cycle closely related to the ice cover. Ringed seals become sexually mature at the age of 5-7 years. Mating occurs in January-March. Pregnancy lasts 11 months. In February-March, the female gives birth to one calf, which she nurses for 5-7 weeks. Molting takes place in the summer. Life expectancy is up to 40 years.
From the moment the ice cover forms, the pregnant female makes a maternity den in the ice. The lair is a shelter among the hummocks, connected to the water by a hole in the ice. By the time of whelping, the den is completely covered with snow and has no access to the surface. During the winter, the female maintains about a dozen similar shelters under the snow for resting and breathing and gives birth to a cub in one of them. For 5-7 weeks the cub remains in the den and does not go into the water.
Distribution: The ringed seal is distributed in all Arctic seas, as well as in the Barents and Okhotsk seas. The Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga are inhabited by independent subspecies (Baltic and Ladoga seals). The distribution of the species largely depends on the ice cover of the water bodies on which these seals breed. It is believed that the species is not characterized by extended migrations, and local movements depend on the availability of food and changes in ice conditions.
Number: The ringed seal is one of the most numerous types marine mammals. Determining the number of seals, like other marine mammals, is extremely difficult. All assessments existing today are largely of an expert nature.
Approximately expert assessment The number of species in the world is 1.2 million.
Diet: The diet of the ringed seal consists of various types of fish and zooplankton. The predominance of one species or another in the diet depends on the season and area of habitat of the ringed seal. In each specific habitat area, the diet of the seal can amount to 10-15 various types, with an absolute predominance of 2-4 of them. The maximum body length of ringed seal victims does not exceed 20 cm. In the Arctic seas great importance has a polar cod (Boreogadus saida).
Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) is one of the most abundant fish in the Arctic seas. The most important object food for more large fish, marine mammals and birds.
Threats: Like other marine mammals, the greatest threat to the ringed seal currently comes from pollution in the world's oceans. In addition, premature destruction of ice cover due to abnormally warm winter weather or icebreaking ships can lead to the death of a significant proportion of newborn calves. http://www.2mn.org/ru/mammals/species/ringed.htm#life
3.1 Least Concern:
Appearance
The ringed seal is named for the light rings with a dark frame that make up the pattern of its fur. The length of adult animals is from 1.1 to 1.5. Weight up to 70 kg, Baltic specimens weigh up to 100 kg. Males are usually slightly larger than females. Ringed seals have good eyesight, as well as excellent hearing and smell.
Spreading
In addition to them, there are two notable freshwater subspecies: Ladoga ( P. h. ladogensis) and Saimaa ( P. h. saimensis).
Behavior
Ringed seals do not form colonies, but live alone. Sometimes they can be seen in small groups that are not connected by particularly strong ties. They are well adapted to being at sea all year round.
Images
The image of a seal can be found on the coats of arms of cities.
Economic importance
Write a review about the article "Ringed seal"
Notes
Links
- Ringed seal // Great Soviet Encyclopedia: [in 30 volumes] / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov. - 3rd ed. - M. : Soviet encyclopedia, 1969-1978.
Excerpt characterizing the ringed seal
“There is no way to fight in this position,” he said. Kutuzov looked at him in surprise and forced him to repeat the words he had said. When he spoke, Kutuzov extended his hand to him.“Give me your hand,” he said, and, turning it so as to feel his pulse, he said: “You’re not well, my dear.” Think about what you are saying.
Kutuzov on Poklonnaya Hill, six miles from the Dorogomilovskaya outpost, got out of the carriage and sat down on a bench on the edge of the road. A huge crowd of generals gathered around him. Count Rastopchin, having arrived from Moscow, joined them. This whole brilliant society, divided into several circles, talked among themselves about the advantages and disadvantages of the position, about the position of the troops, about the proposed plans, about the state of Moscow, and about military issues in general. Everyone felt that although they had not been called to this, although it was not called that, it was a council of war. The conversations were all kept in the area of general issues. If anyone reported or learned personal news, it was said in a whisper, and they immediately went back to general issues: no jokes, no laughter, no smiles were even noticeable between all these people. Everyone, obviously with effort, tried to stay at the height of the situation. And all the groups, talking among themselves, tried to stay close to the commander-in-chief (whose shop was the center in these circles) and spoke so that he could hear them. The commander-in-chief listened and sometimes asked questions about what was being said around him, but he himself did not enter into the conversation and did not express any opinion. For the most part Having listened to the conversation of some circle, he turned away with a look of disappointment - as if they were talking about something completely different from what he wanted to know. Some spoke about the chosen position, criticizing not so much the position itself as mental capacity those who chose it; others argued that a mistake had been made earlier, that the battle should have been fought on the third day; still others talked about the Battle of Salamanca, which the Frenchman Crosard, who had just arrived in a Spanish uniform, told about. (This Frenchman, together with one of German princes, who served in the Russian army, dealt with the siege of Saragossa, foreseeing the opportunity to also defend Moscow.) In the fourth circle, Count Rastopchin said that he and the Moscow squad were ready to die under the walls of the capital, but that still he could not help but regret that uncertainty , in which he was left, and that if he had known this before, it would have been different... The fifth, showing the depth of their strategic considerations, talked about the direction that the troops would have to take. The sixth spoke complete nonsense. Kutuzov's face became more and more concerned and sadder. From all the conversations of these Kutuzovs he saw one thing: there was no physical possibility to defend Moscow in full meaning these words, that is, it was not possible to such an extent that if some crazy commander-in-chief had given the order to start a battle, then confusion would have occurred and the battle would not have happened after all; it would not have been because all the top leaders not only recognized this position as impossible, but in their conversations they discussed only what would happen after the undoubted abandonment of this position. How could commanders lead their troops on a battlefield they considered impossible? The lower commanders, even the soldiers (who also reason), also recognized the position as impossible and therefore could not go to fight with the certainty of defeat. If Bennigsen insisted on defending this position and others were still discussing it, then this question no longer mattered in itself, but mattered only as a pretext for dispute and intrigue. Kutuzov understood this.