Page 16 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Ribbon seal
Harbour seal

Ringed seal

Spotted seal
This species is born ready to
swim for its supper
Spotted seal pups are born
between January and April on
the pack ice of the North Pacific

and Arctic Oceans. Their mothers
will usually stay with them until Hooded seal
they are four to six weeks old, but Female hooded seals look for

if they need to, the pups can swim mates with red inflated faces
Male hooded seals have
within hours of being born.
a fleshy muzzle that they

can inflate to show off their

strength. They do this to
intimidate other males and
attract a female to mate with.
Northern elephant seal However, this bond doesn’t last,
as the breeding season is only
two to three weeks long.

Hawaiian monk seal
One of the world’s few tropical seal species
The coral reefs surrounding the
remote northwestern Hawaiian
islands are the ideal foraging ground
for these warm-water seals. They
spend most of their time at sea but
will come ashore to rest or shelter
from storms. Female monk seals are
dedicated mothers, staying with their
pups for up to six weeks a er birth.

Resting seals slow Southern elephant seal
their breathing rate
down in order to
conserve energy

Ross seal
Sluggish seals that appear to
love singing
These Antarctic seals are
slow-moving on land, dragging
themselves along on their bellies
by gripping the ice with their
claws. They are unable to raise
their upper body into an upright

position; instead, they are o en
seen with their heads raised and
their mouths open, earning them Leopard seal
the nickname of ‘singing seals’.

16

012-019_WOA41_Seals of the world.indd 16 01/12/2016 12:52