Ringed seal drawing. The character and behavior of the ringed seal - protection of the ringed seal

Ringed seal (other names: akiba, ringed seal) is an animal from the order of pinnipeds that lives in the Arctic. It is a close relative of the common seal. There are 4 subspecies ringed seal : White Sea, Baltic, Ladoga and Saimaa. Two of them (Baltic and Ladoga) are listed in the Red Book of Russia.

Appearance of the ringed seal

The ringed seal is quite small in size, its body length rarely reaches 1.5 meters, and its weight exceeds 100 kg. Males are slightly larger in size than females. The body is short and dense, thickened.

The head is small, the neck is short. There is no long hair, there is only short and hard hair, streamlined and smooth when wet. The coloring is very unusual and distinctive. The body is dark gray, sometimes almost black, with bright spots and rings scattered throughout the body, with the exception of the flippers and belly. Thanks to this coloring the animal got its name.

The seal has well-developed sensory organs: it has excellent vision, smell and hearing.

Habitats of the ringed seal

The distribution area of the ringed seal differs depending on its subspecies.

Thus, the White Sea subspecies lives in the coastal zones of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, being one of the most common species of pinnipeds in these latitudes.

The Baltic subspecies is widespread in the water area Baltic Sea on the coasts of Estonia, Russia, Sweden and Finland. Very rare in Germany.

The habitat of the Ladoga subspecies is the water area of Lake Ladoga with the sources of the Neva River. Periodically moves from the lake to the Gulf of Finland.

The Saimaa subspecies is common in Lake Saimaa in Finland and is the only endemic mammal of that country.

Ringed seals They lead a solitary lifestyle and rarely form groups. This usually happens in the summer, when 30-50 individuals gather in coastal zone and set up rookeries. Closer to winter, seals travel singly on drifting ice floes away from the shore.

The ringed seal is an excellent swimmer and diver. She can hold her breath for 15-20 minutes, diving to a depth of 50 meters.

This animal feeds on fish: herring, navaga, capelin, cod, etc. The seal does not disdain crustaceans, invertebrates and zooplankton. It is quite easy for her to find food and the question of how and where to get food never becomes too pressing.

Seals spend most of their time underwater, swimming under ice floes. To get to the surface, they create “crawls” - holes through which they can climb onto the ice floe. If the seal only needs to breathe, then they create “vents” - small holes in the ice.

The number of ringed seals varies depending on the subspecies. The Belomorsky subspecies is very numerous and is not endangered.

The Baltic subspecies tends to decline; the number of individuals currently does not reach 50 thousand.

The number of individuals of the Ladoga subspecies is about 20 thousand, and the Saimaa subspecies is no more than 100.

The main negative factor affecting the number of ringed seal individuals is:

pollution of the lakes and seas in which they live
waste discharges and industrial waste
uncontrolled fishing and active economic activity throughout the distribution area.

Natural enemies that influence the number of ringed seal individuals are polar bears, arctic foxes, killer whales and walruses.

Reproduction of the ringed seal

The active breeding season of ringed seals, like many other animals, begins in the spring. Pregnancy lasts 11 months, 3 of which are latent. Future mother prepares a reliable shelter for himself and the baby, constructing a shelter from snow hummocks. It must have a hole in the ice through which you can get into the water and swim to the surface.

In March-April, the female gives birth to one calf weighing about 5 kg. Within a month, it is covered with beautiful snow-white fur, which gradually gives way to dark gray wool. Feeding with milk lasts 2-3 months.

Seals reach sexual maturity at the age of 5-7 years. The lifespan of these animals is 30-35 years.

Protection of the ringed seal

Ringed seal listed in the International Red Book with the status of “species of least concern”. In Russia, the Baltic and Ladoga subspecies are protected. A special program for the protection of the Saimaa subspecies has been developed in Finland ringed seal. In general, there is a need to create reserves and constantly monitor the numbers of these animals.

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Subclass: Theria Parker et Haswell, 1879= Viviparous mammals, true animals

Infraclass: Eutheria, Placentalia Gill, 1872= Placental, higher animals

Order: Pinnipedia Illiger, 1811 = Pinnipeds

Family: Phocidae Brooker, 1828 = Seals, true [earless] seals

Subspecies: Pusa hispida botnica Gmelin, 1788 = Baltic seal

Subspecies: Pusa hispida ladogensis Nordquist, 1899 = Ladoga seal

Subspecies: Pusa hispida saimensis Nordquist, 1899 = Saiman seal

The ringed seal, or akiba (Pusa hispida), is covered with coarse blackish-brown fur with numerous white rings irregular shape. 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; She 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 Arctic Ocean, reaching as far south as 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 in Russia industrial production There are no ringed seals. 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. Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga 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: Ringed seal is one of the most numerous species marine mammals. Determining the number of seals, like other marine mammals, is extremely difficult. All assessments existing today are largely of an expert nature.

According to a rough expert estimate, the number of the 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. Maximum length the bodies of ringed seal victims do not exceed 20 cm. In the Arctic seas great value has a polar cod (Boreogadus saida).

Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) is one of the most abundant fish in the Arctic seas. The most important food item 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

The taxonomy of the species is not yet clear enough. It was assumed that this species contains up to 10 subspecies, of which 6 live in waters Soviet Union and 4 - beyond them. However, recent studies by Soviet and American zoologists have shown that there are still no sharp boundaries sufficient to distinguish them into independent subspecies, although some seals have a peculiar appearance, which is probably determined by the influence external conditions in various areas. However, this uniqueness does not go beyond population variability.

One of the smallest seals. The body length of an adult seal is up to 150 cm, total mass usually does not exceed 50-60 kg. The body is relatively short and thick. The neck is short, the head is small, the muzzle is shortened. The vibrissae are flattened with wavy edges. The hair of adult animals, like that of other species, is short, hard, with a predominance of awns. The coloration of adult animals varies widely. Characterized by the presence large quantity light rings scattered throughout the body. The general background color of the dorsal side of the body is dark, sometimes almost black, while the ventral side is light, yellowish. There are no light rings on the flippers. Males and females are colored the same.

Distribution and migrations

Inhabitant of the Arctic and subarctic waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, where it occurs circumpolarly. Lives mainly in coastal shallow areas. Also inhabits the Baltic Sea, lakes Ladoga and Saimaa.

IN northern seas Soviet Union, the seal is distributed from the Murmansk coast to
Bering Strait, including the White Sea, waters of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, New Siberian Islands.

It is absent in the central ice-free deep-water part of the Barents Sea. It sometimes penetrates north with ice even into the polar region.

On Far East The ringed seal is called an akiba. In the Bering Sea, it lives along the western (where it descends to the south almost to Cape Lopatka in Kamchatka) and eastern (to Bristol Bay) coasts, including the waters of the Commander and Aleutian Islands. There is no akiba in the deep sea. In the Sea of Okhotsk it inhabits the entire coastal part, including numerous bays, as well as the coast of Eastern Sakhalin, Sakhalin Bay and the Tatar Strait. Reaches the shores of Hokkaido.

Outside our waters, the ringed seal lives off the coast of Northern Norway, Spitsbergen, the eastern (up to 75° N) and western coasts of Greenland, in the northern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the island of Newfoundland. Inhabits almost the entire Canadian Arctic archipelago, including Hudson Bay.

Migration in ringed seals is weakly expressed. It is believed, for example, that seals from the eastern part of the Barents Sea migrate to the nearby waters of the Kara Sea for the summer and return in the fall. In the Sea of Okhotsk, seals are carried over long distances by drifting ice and, after its disappearance, actively move to their summer-autumn habitats. There are also some seasonal movements of seals in the Baltic Sea.

Nutrition

The ringed seal's diet consists of two groups of animals - fish and crustaceans, and only those that form large aggregations in the upper horizons of the sea. All other animals found in the stomachs of seals do not play a significant role in nutrition. In the Barents and Kara Seas, the main food source for seals is cod; navaga, capelin, and herring are of lesser importance. The seal also eats shrimp, amphipods, black-eyes and other crustaceans.

In the Baltic Sea, seals eat mainly sprat, then herring, gobies, crustaceans and, less commonly, cod. In the Bering Sea, cod predominates in the akiba's diet; navaga, shrimp, amphipods, and mysids are of lesser importance. In the Sea of Okhotsk, among the fish (in autumn), akiba prefers navaga, smelt, herring, and less often eats gerbil and gobies. In spring, its diet is dominated by invertebrates - black-eyes, then amphipods, shrimp, and mysids. Among the fish at this time of year, akiba eats navaga, pollock, and smelt.

Reproduction and development

The pup dates for the ringed seal are quite similar throughout its vast range. In Okhotsk and Chukotka, in Bely and Barents Seas females give birth to offspring from mid-March to mid-April, in the Baltic Sea and Lake Ladoga - mainly in early March. After the pup comes mating, which takes place in late April and May in both Atlantic and Pacific waters. The duration of pregnancy is about 11 months, including the latent period (2-3 months). The cubs are born in a long, thick plumage, which is replaced, apparently, after 2 weeks.

The length of a newborn is about 60 cm, weight up to 4 kg. Milk feeding lasts about 1 month, during this period the body length of the cubs increases by approximately 10 cm, and the weight doubles. Then the growth rate slows down. By winter, the body weight of young seals reaches 12 kg, and their length is 80 cm or more. Yearlings have a body length of up to 84 cm and a weight of 14 kg. For seals from the Sea of Okhotsk, the following growth rate was determined: for two-year-old seals, body length 92 cm, weight 19 kg; for three-year-olds - 98 cm and 24 kg, respectively; for four-year-olds - 102 cm and 32 kg; for five-year-olds - 106 cm and 29 kg; for six-year-olds - 110 cm and 32 kg; for seven-year-olds - 113 cm and 34 kg.

Females reach sexual maturity in most cases at the age of 5-6 years, and give birth to their first offspring at the age of 6-7 years. The annual average barrenness of females ranges from 20 to 40%. Males begin breeding mainly at the age of 6-7 years. In ringed seals, growth stops at the age of 10 years.

Behavior

In most of their range, seals breed on the stationary ice of coastal fast ice, but in the Sea of Okhotsk, seal breeding occurs on drifting ice, on strong large ice floes with holes (crawls) in them.

Animals that live on stationary ice do not form clusters, being located at a certain distance in relation to each other. Up to hundreds of animals sometimes gather on large drifting ice floes. In the ice, seals make holes through which they exit the sea onto the ice, or vents through which they can only breathe. On the motionless ice above the hole (or near it), a snow lair is built, completely invisible from the outside, in which the cub is born and lives.

Number

The ringed seal is the most numerous species of true seal. northern hemisphere. According to a rough estimate, the total number of the species is close to 5 million heads. Largest part populations live in polar waters.

The approximate number of seals is as follows: in the waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago - up to 1 million heads, in the northern seas of the Soviet Union - up to 2.5 million, in the Sea of Okhotsk - about 800 thousand heads.

Economic importance

Despite the small size of the seal, in some places its fishing is of significant economic importance. Until recently, 50-60 thousand animals were caught per season in the Sea of Okhotsk. Then a limit was set (30 thousand heads per year), and as the population decreased, the production limit also decreased. A large fishery for Far Eastern akiba was also carried out by the local population Chukotka Peninsula(up to 20 thousand heads per year), now it has decreased significantly. Modern limits (late 70s) for akiba production are 7,000 for the Okhotsk Sea and 10,000 heads per year for the Bering Sea.

Several hundred heads were caught annually by local hunters in the White, Barents, Kara Seas and other areas of the range. The following limits for the production of ringed seals have now been established: for the Baltic Sea 300 heads, for Lake Ladoga 500, for White Sea 300, for Barents and Kara seas(together) 6,000 heads per year.

Author's work
Author: Vasilyeva E. and Fedotova E., students of grade 2-G, Gymnasium No. 196
Head: Elena Vladimirovna Glikman
Review: Eremina Lyubov Anatolyevna, teacher of biology, chemistry and geography MCOU "Selkovsky basic secondary school"

Appearance

The Baltic ringed seal is a marine mammal that belongs to the genus of small seals. It is also called ringed seal or akiba. Here's what Wiktionary says about this seal: "In general, the ringed seal is much smaller than the common seal; but it has a thick layer of fat under its skin." It is this layer that prevents the seal from freezing, which is why some subspecies of seals dare to swim far into the Northern Arctic Ocean. The body color is dark gray with light veins in the form of rings. Maybe that's why they call it the ringed seal? The front flippers are shorter than the hind ones. Head with a short muzzle. Average weight animals 80 kg, like a tall adult man.

Spreading

Inhabitant of the Arctic and subarctic waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Lives mainly in coastal shallow areas. Also inhabits the Baltic Sea, Lake Ladoga. In the northern seas of Russia, the seal is distributed from the Murmansk coast to the Bering Strait, including the White Sea, the waters of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands.
The Baltic ringed seal also lives in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga.

Nutrition

In the Baltic Sea, seals eat mainly sprat, herring, gobies, crustaceans and, less commonly, cod. The seal eats up to 8 kilograms of this food per day.

Reproduction

Females give birth in the Baltic Sea - mainly in early March. Before that, she carried her offspring for 11 months. The female brings one, sometimes two cubs, covered with thick and soft fur. The baby is creamy white, which is why it is called squirrel. A newborn seal can go into the water and swim independently. Milk feeding of the cubs lasts 3-4 weeks, after which they become independent. After 6-7 years, adult animals will be able to reproduce.

Security

In 1970, there were about 12.5 thousand Baltic ringed seals in the Gulf of Finland and Riga. Today their numbers are decreasing. Previously, the number of these seals decreased due to hunting of these sea animals. Now seals breed less and less often, because the waters of the bays where they live are polluted by industrial and agricultural waste.
In the waters former USSR Since 1980, a ban on the hunting of Baltic ringed seals has been introduced.

The image of a seal can be found on postage stamps and in artistic works.

Gallery

Nerpa 1 001.jpg

Seal in the water

Nerpa-2-001.gif

Seal on land

Literature (sources)

Airapetyants A.E., Verevkin M.V., Fokin I.M. Baltic ringed seal / Red Book of Nature of St. Petersburg. Rep. ed. G.A. Noskov. - St. Petersburg: ANO NPO "Professional", 2004. - 95-96 p.
Atlas of Marine Mammals of the USSR. - City: " Food industry", 1980. - 39-40 p.
Geptner V.G., Naumov N.P. Mammals of the Soviet Union. Volume 2, part 3. - City: Title, 1976. - 169-173 p.
Ivanter E.V. Mammals. - Petrozavodsk: "Karelia", 1974. - 202 p.

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 somewhat larger than females. Ringed seals have good eyesight, as well as excellent hearing and sense of 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

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Notes

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 were not called upon, 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 questions: 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, after listening to the conversation of some circle, he turned away with a look of disappointment - as if they were not talking about what he wanted to know. Some spoke about the chosen position, criticizing not so much the position itself as the mental abilities of 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 the 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 everything yet he cannot help but regret the uncertainty in which he was left, and that if he had known this before, things 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 Kutuzov saw one thing: there was no physical possibility of defending Moscow in the full meaning of these words, that is, it was not possible to such an extent that if some crazy commander-in-chief had given the order to give battle, then confusion would have occurred and the battles would have all it wouldn't have happened; 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.