Common seal: appearance, habitat, natural enemies. Types of seals. How many types of seals are there

KEY FACTS
Name: Gray (long-faced) seal (Halichoerus grypus); spotted seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) and Baltic ringed seal (Phoca hispida botnica).
Area: Baltic Sea
Social group size: True social groups No; most species usually form breeding groups numbering hundreds or thousands of individuals
Gestation period: 6-11 months (depending on the species), including the latency period
Number of Cubs: One
Self-reliance: 2-4 weeks

Seals belong to the order Pinnipedia, which means pinnipeds. Large flippers allow them to swim well, however, on land, seals move rather clumsily.

Pinnipeds live mainly in water, and most of them come to land only during the breeding and molting season. There are about 30 species of these animals in three families of pinnipeds. In this article, we will focus on public behavior pinnipeds from the Phocidae family, called earless or true seals. We will also consider the lifestyle of native species Baltic Sea, including the northern sea Elephant(Mirounga angustirostris).

The social behavior of the elephant seal, whose males fight each other for control of a group of females called a harem, has been extensively studied by zoologists. During the year, elephant seals usually lead a solitary lifestyle and only periodically come out on land or ice in groups. Even the mother does not take proper care of her offspring. She rarely teaches them the skills needed to adult life, feeds newborn cubs with milk for only a few weeks and leaves them to their fate.

A crabeater seal rests on an ice sheet in Antarctica. Representatives of this species feed on plankton, capturing it open mouth while swimming and filtering sea water through the teeth.

Seals of the Baltic

Three species live in the Baltic Sea: the tuvyak, or gray (long-faced) seal; spotted seal and Baltic ringed seal. Most they all lead solitary lives.

In order to give life to future generations, seals must go to land or dense ice, because if a cub is born in the water, it will immediately drown. However, seals leave the water during molting. Having changed their habitat, they gather in groups, and during this period there is no trace of their hermit way of life. If the seals' skin is warm, they will grow new fur. On land, animals move very slowly, so they form massive clusters on land to protect themselves from predators.

All Baltic seals leave the water in spring or early summer and congregate in their traditional breeding grounds in the ice fields. In females that have been well fed during 8-9 months of pregnancy, cubs appear soon after entering the ice. Mothers need a solid supply of fat (i.e., subcutaneous fat), which provides them with vital energy for the time of feeding the cubs, because during this period females rarely manage to eat. Pups of female gray and spotted seals are born on open ice near the recesses that their mothers dig and clean in advance. Unlike them, female ringed seals dig caves over 2 m deep in the snow - so-called. haulouts, which may consist of several compartments.

Northern fur seals spend 6-8 months a year in the open sea and come out to rocky land only in summer, during the breeding season. Pictured is a colony. fur seals in Alaska (USA).

Offspring

Newborn cubs of all three species (they are also called puppies) are born in a white fluffy coat. A baby spotted seal usually sheds while still in the womb and is born in a “baby” gray fur coat, but newborn gray seal and ringed seal puppies are white and fluffy. Gray seals shed their white fur after three weeks, and ringed seals at 4-6 weeks of age.

Spotted seal pups are larger and generally better developed than other species. They are able to crawl and swim within a few hours after birth. Such early development favorable for a species that spends up to 75% of its life in water.

The gray seal takes less care of its pups than other relatives. The female feeds the babies with milk for only 14-17 days, and then they are left alone with all the dangers of life. Seal milk is very fatty, and during the feeding period, the cubs gain weight up to 2 kg per day. The resulting stock subcutaneous fat the puppy is very necessary, because when the mother stops feeding him, he will not be able to eat until he gets to the water.

Usually after two weeks, hungry puppies begin to master water element. Babies get food on a whim, they are not helped by relatives, but often young animals follow adults to find good feeding places.

Female spotted seals and ringed seals pay more attention to their babies. The period of feeding the offspring lasts 4 and 6 weeks, respectively, at which time they themselves also sometimes manage to eat. Cubs of both species can swim from the very early age and sometimes accompany their mothers in search of food. This gives the kids the opportunity to learn the basics of a future independent life.

Rival males

When the females stop nursing their young, all seal species enter mating season. Males compete for the location of females, and male gray seals also compete for a plot in breeding grounds; they mate with all the females that come to their territory.

Signs of the beginning of a conflict between two seals are menacingly open mouths of males, loud cries and a demonstration of sharp teeth. During a fight, males may bite each other on the neck and front flippers, or pin each other to the ice. During the mating season, male winners can achieve the location of more than ten girlfriends. However, this advantage must first be won. It happens that males successfully defend their territory, only reaching the age of 10.

Male spotted seals have a different strategy. At some point, they gather in areas popular with females and put on a "water acrobatics show" accompanied by underwater sounds. Females give preference to those males whose performance impressed them the most. Marriage rituals ringed seals are not well understood, but males are believed to defend underwater territories where mating takes place.

Coast Pacific Ocean in California (USA). The picture captures the moment of the struggle between the two northern sea elephants during the mating season. Before the fight, the animals open their mouths wide, bare their teeth and scream loudly.

Males of all species do not eat anything during the mating season and sometimes lose up to 25% of their weight. After the end of the mating season, adult seals - both males and females - leave the ice fields and regain their lost strength within a few weeks. During the rest, they prepare for the upcoming molt, when they will have to get out of the water and exist without food for some more time.

northern elephant seal

Elephant seals are the largest of the pinnipeds. They got their name because of the short trunk of the male, hanging over his jaw and increasing during conflicts over territory. There are two types of elephant seals: the southern elephant seal and the northern elephant seal.

Like most pinnipeds, the northern elephant seal comes to land only during periods of molting and breeding. Males arrive at the "marriage territory" in early December and compete for the right to occupy it. The winner will receive the favor of all the females that fall on his site, which is why the males compete so fiercely for best territory. In battles involving a clearly larger and more dominant male, the weak one usually concedes, and if the strength of the males is equal, the battle lasts until one of them wins. Approaching each other, the males rear up, reaching 2-3 m in height, inflate their trunks and roar loudly. If none of the rivals give up, the seals make swift attacks: and injure each other sharp teeth. Most of them have many scars from such battles. Sometimes battles of northern elephant seals: can lead to the death of one of them.

2-3 weeks after the arrival of males, females arrive at the breeding grounds, ready to give birth to babies. They choose sites with best conditions, forming harems. Females bring one cub 6-7 days after arrival and feed it with milk for about 28 days. During this period, the male - the owner of the territory - guards the harem. IN last days feeding males again mate with females.

The hard life of children

Like other animals that are characterized by the formation of harems, male northern elephant seals are significantly larger than females. Their dimensions are dangerous not only for females, but also for babies. Every seventh puppy dies because he was crushed by a male who simply did not notice the cub.

For babies, alien females are also a threat. If the puppy loses contact with the mother, he will join another female to feed on her milk. However, most often a foreign female does not allow this. Like other seals, during the mating season, she does not eat anything, and milk is formed due to the supply of subcutaneous fat. The female saves this valuable product only for her baby, because the chances of his survival in the future depend on the reserves of fat that he has time to accumulate during the feeding period. If a strange cub demands milk from a female too persistently, she can expel him or even kill him. The mother who has lost her cub only occasionally shares her milk with orphans, but the cubs she nursed rarely survive.

The dominant male usually takes care of a harem of 40 females. more territory, which is occupied by females, the more difficult it is for the male to assert his right to them. Fierce competition between males leads to the fact that only a third of them have the opportunity to mate. Almost 90% of the cubs in a large colony are usually fathered by only a few successful males.

Although the lifespan of seals can be over 15 years, the dangers associated with protecting the territory and harem, as well as losing more than a third of the weight during the mating season, mean that males rarely have the strength to participate in breeding for more than 3-4 years. Most males die after two successful mating seasons.

Male swindlers

Many males are not large enough and strong enough to fight for territory, which means they have no chance of mating. But not all of them are ready to put up with this state of affairs - some are trying to cheat using alternative methods. Such males are called "thieves" by zoologists. Some thieves at the end of the mating season are waiting for females who return to the sea, and, seizing the moment when the dominant male ceases to guard the harem, mate with them. This tactic occasionally bears fruit, but often they fail to win over the females, because most of them are already pregnant by that time.

Other thieving males wait for an opportunity to challenge the dominant male when his strength is running out after actively fighting rivals. Still others, most often underdeveloped, more female-like males, may try to sneak into the harem in the hope that the dominant male will not notice them and try to mate with the females. However, it is undesirable for females to show their favor to such males, since their offspring may be weak. Most often, in such a situation, females scream, attracting the attention of the dominant male, who comes to the rescue and drives the uninvited guest away. Thus, females select only the strongest males as fathers of offspring.

Most of their lives, real seals spend in the water - in the seas, lakes or coastal ocean waters. Only two species of seals live in fresh water, one of them is the Baikal seal. All seals breathe atmospheric air and are warm-blooded mammals.

Characteristics real seals

body structure

The body of real seals has an ideal hydrodynamic shape - it is streamlined and oblong. The forelimbs are shorter than the hind limbs. True seals do not have external auricles on their heads.

sense organs

Real seals both in the water and on land see and hear perfectly. Their sense of smell is poorly developed. Animals communicate with each other by making certain sounds. Males bark and growl loudly during the mating season.

Wool

The body of real seals is covered with short hair. These animals have a well-developed layer of subcutaneous fat.

Teeth and claws

The shape and number of teeth depend on the type of true seals. Baby seals have teeth when they are three months old. On the forelimbs of real seals there are five very sharp and long claws.

Movement

In water, due to the hydrodynamic shape of the body, real seals move very quickly. On land, they are rather clumsy animals.

Differences between true and eared seals

All seals belong to the pinnipeds order. The squad consists of three families. Those types of seals that do not have external auricles belong to the family of true seals. Other seals, such as sea lions, which have developed small external auricles, belong to the eared seal family. The walrus family also belongs to the same order. Eared seals differ from real ones in body structure. The first thing that stands out as a feature is the protruding ears on the head (hence the name eared seals).

In addition to the absence of ears, true seals are distinguished by their hind limbs set back and short forelimbs. Most types of true seals move on land very clumsily, they cling to the ground with their claws and pull up the back of the body, then again push the front of the body forward and pull the rear towards it. Eared seals move quickly and dexterously on the ground. They "run" in jumps, pushing off the ground with their paws.

Interesting information. DO YOU KNOW WHAT...

The Baikal seal is the smallest representative of true seals. The length of her body does not exceed one and a half meters.
Some pinnipeds have small stones in their stomachs. Animals swallow them on purpose, but scientists still do not have a consensus on the reasons for this.
There is evidence that the long-lived seal died at the age of 43 years. It was a ringed seal found on about. Baffin Land in 1954 (Canada).
Most often, seals dive to a depth of 90 meters. However, a case is known when a Weddell seal dived to a depth of 600 meters.
It is possible that the Baikal and Caspian seals are descended from the ringed seal, which came into Lake Baikal and the Caspian Sea several million years ago.
All types of pinnipeds, like other mammals, have four limbs - 2 front and 2 hind. The bones of the limbs of pinnipeds, like those of mammals, are interconnected, covered with muscles and hidden under a layer of skin.

ORIGIN

The origin of these pinnipeds is still a mystery to people. Fossilized remains of seals or similar animals have been found with an age of about 5-22 million years. Fossil remains resemble the skeletons of modern pinnipeds. One species of fossil animal differed in that it had a tail and long limbs. Scientists believe that real seals are descended from animals that lived on Earth about 60-65 million years ago.

According to another hypothesis, true seals appeared rather late, they are close relatives of otters, and eared seals appeared earlier and their ancestors were bears.

LIFESTYLE

True seals spend most of their lives in the water. Cubs of some species can swim from the first day of their life. Adult individuals come to land during molting, during the mating season, or to sleep off and rest. Some species of true seals live in cold waters where there is a large amount of food. Others live in tropical and subtropical waters, including two species of monk seals and the southern elephant seal.

FOOD

True seals are carnivorous animals whose diet consists of food of animal origin. They prey on marine life such as fish, cuttlefish, shrimp and crustaceans. Some species have a preference for particular foods. For example, sea leopard hunts penguins and small seals, while most of the real seals eat fish. Elephant seals - the most gigantic members of the family - eat rays and small sharks. In search of food, seals dive under water. A person, holding his breath, can descend to a depth of 40 meters, while a seal dives to a depth of up to 90 meters during a hunt. Seals dive underwater when their lungs contain a minimal amount of oxygen, so they manage to avoid the so-called diver's disease. The seal's heart rate during the dive is reduced by ten times, because of this, oxygen is stored in the animal's blood, which provides the brain and other vital organs.

On land, seals drink fresh water. Some scientists suggest that animals can also drink salt water. It is possible that seals get the main part of the necessary fluid with food.

BREEDING

Some species of true seals are monogamous and are paired throughout their lives. Males of other species, such as elephant seals and gray seals, occupy their territory during the mating season and form a harem. Female true seals give birth to pups every year. Only one baby is born to the female each time. Twins in seals are a rarity. During the mating season, the seals come to land. Males appear first. They try to take best plots and often, in order to protect them from applicants, they enter into battle with an opponent. Females come out onto land or ice floes later. First, they give birth to a baby from a previous mating, and after 2-6 weeks they mate again with males. Pregnancy of females lasts about 9 months. The females take care of the cubs until they become independent. They feed babies with milk. Two-week-old cubs remain on the shore. Females, going in search of food, leave them alone for a long time.

Real seals. Video (00:00:54)

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SEALS. Video (00:07:16)

A SEAL IN THE CASPIAN SEA IN WINTER. Funny animals fur seals / marine seal. Video (00:02:05)

Seal in winter in the Caspian Sea. Funny animals fur seals. A mother teaches her cub the first swims. Funny animals.
Video from the oil platform. ed. Irina Chernova

Seal learns to swim. Crybaby Learns to Swim. Video (00:02:29)

Animal seal found in the seas that flow into the North Arctic Ocean, keeps mainly near the coast, but spends most of the time in the water.

It is customary to call seals representatives of groups of eared and true seals. In both cases, the limbs of the animals end in flippers with well-developed large claws. The size of a mammal depends on its belonging to a particular species and subspecies. On average, the length of the body varies from 1 to 6 m, weight - from 100 kg to 3.5 tons.

The elongated body resembles a spindle in shape, the head is small narrowed in front, a thick, motionless neck, the animal has 26-36 teeth.

There are no auricles - instead of them, valves are located on the head that protect the ears from water ingress, the same valves are in the nostrils of mammals. On the muzzle in the nose area there are long mobile whiskers - tactile vibrissae.

When moving on land, the hind flippers are stretched back, they are inflexible and cannot serve as a support. The mass of subcutaneous fat of an adult animal can be 25% of the total body weight.

Depending on the species, the density of the hairline also differs, so, maritime elephants – seals, which practically do not have it, while other species boast coarse fur.

The color also varies from reddish-brown to gray seal, from plain to striped and spotted seal. An interesting fact is that seals can cry, although they do not have lacrimal glands. Some species have a small tail, which plays no role in moving both on land and in water.

The nature and lifestyle of the seal

Seal on the a photo seems to be a clumsy and slow animal, but such an impression can only be formed if it is on land, where movement consists in ridiculous movements of the body from side to side.

spotted seal

If necessary, in water, a mammal can reach speeds of up to 25 km / h. In terms of diving, representatives of some species are also champions - diving depth can be up to 600 m.

In addition, it can stay under water for about 10 minutes without an influx of oxygen, this is due to the fact that there is an air bag on the side under the skin, with which the animal stores oxygen.

Swimming in search of food under huge ice floes, seals deftly find leads in them in order to replenish this supply. In this situation the seal makes a sound, similar to clicking, which is considered to be a kind of echolocation.

Under water, the seal can make other sounds. For example, sea, inflating the nasal sac, produces a sound similar to the roar of an ordinary land elephant. This helps him drive away rivals and enemies.

Representatives of all types of seals spend most of their lives at sea. On land, they are selected only during molting and for reproduction.

It is surprising that animals even sleep in the water, moreover, they can do it in two ways: by turning over on their back, the seal stays on the surface thanks to a thick layer of fat and slow movements of the fins, or, falling asleep, the animal plunges shallowly under the water (a couple of meters), after which it emerges, takes a few breaths and sinks again, repeating these movements throughout the entire period of sleep.

Despite a certain degree of mobility, in both these cases the animal is sound asleep. Newborn individuals spend only the first 2-3 weeks on land, then, still not really able to swim, they descend into the water to start an independent life.

The seal can sleep in the water, turning over on its back

An adult has three spots on the sides, the layer of fat on which is much less than on the rest of the body. With the help of these places, the seal escapes from overheating, giving off excess heat through them.

Young individuals do not yet have this ability. They give off heat with their whole body, therefore, in the case when a young seal lies on the ice for a long time without moving, a large puddle forms under it.

Sometimes it can even lead to lethal outcome, since when the ice melts deep under the seal, then he cannot get out of there. In this case, even the mother of the baby can not help him. Baikal seals live in closed water bodies, which is not characteristic of any other species.

Seals feeding

The main food for the seal family is fish. The beast has no definite preferences - what kind of fish he meets during the hunt, he will catch that one.

Of course, to maintain such a huge mass, the animal needs to hunt big fish especially if it occurs in in large numbers. During periods when fish schools do not come close to the shores in the size necessary for the seal, the animal can pursue prey, rising up the rivers.

So, relative of the spotted seal at the beginning of summer it feeds on fish descending into the sea along the tributaries of the rivers, then it switches to capelin, which comes to the coast to spawn. Salmon are the next victim every year.

That is, in warm period the animal eats plenty of fish, which itself tends to the shore for one reason or another, things are more complicated in the cold season.

Seal relatives need to move away from the coast, keeping close to drifting ice floes and eating pollock, mollusks and. Of course, if any other fish appears in the way of a seal during a hunt, it will not swim past.

Reproduction and life span of a seal

Regardless of the species, seals have offspring only once a year. As a rule, this happens at the end of summer. Mammals gather in huge seal rookeries on the icy surface (the mainland or, more often, a large drifting ice floe).

Each such rookery can number several thousand individuals. Most pairs are monogamous, however, the elephant seal (one of the largest seals) is a representative of polygamous relationships.

Mating takes place in January, after which the mother bears 9 - 11 months baby seals. A baby immediately after birth can weigh 20 or even 30 kg with a body length of 1 meter.

baby eared seal

First, the mother feeds the baby with milk, each female has 1 or 2 pairs of nipples. Due breastfeeding, seal pups gain weight very quickly - every day they can become heavier by 4 kg. The fur of babies is very soft and most often white, however white seal acquires its permanent future color in 2-3 weeks.

As soon as the period of feeding with milk passes, that is, after a month after birth (depending on the species, from 5 to 30 days), the babies descend into the water and then take care of food themselves. However, at first they only learn to hunt, so they live from hand to mouth, keeping only on the fat reserve obtained from their mother's milk.

Breastfeeding mothers of different species behave differently. So, eared mostly keep close to the rookery, and females harp seals, like most other species, move away from the coast for a considerable distance in search of large clusters fishes.

A young female is ready to procreate at the age of 3 years, males reach sexual maturity only by 6 years. The lifespan of a healthy individual depends on the species and sex. On average, females can reach the age of 35 years, males - 25.

Uniting representatives of two families: real and eared seals. Rather clumsy on land, they are excellent swimmers underwater. Their traditional habitat is coastal zones of southern and northern latitudes. The types of seals that exist in nature are very different, but at the same time, there are many common features in their appearance, habits and lifestyle.

In the broad sense of the word, seals can be considered all representatives of the order Pinnipeds, but usually this name means animals from the family of true seals. They are closely related to representatives of the eared seal family (and) and. distant relatives seals are, on the one hand, terrestrial predators, and on the other, cetaceans, who have completely switched to an aquatic lifestyle. The variety of seals is relatively small, there are about 20 species in total.

Appearance

The body of the seals is elongated and valky at the same time, the contours of the body are streamlined, the neck is short and thick, the head is relatively small with a flattened skull. The limbs of the seals turned into flat flippers, with the hands and feet being most developed, and the shoulder and femoral girdle shortened.

True seals do not have auricles, and the ear canal is closed by a special muscle during diving. Despite this, seals have good hearing. But the eyes of these animals, on the contrary, are large, but short-sighted. This structure of the organs of vision is characteristic aquatic mammals.

Of all the sense organs, seals have the best developed sense of smell. These animals perfectly capture smells at a distance of 200-500 m! They also have tactile vibrissae (colloquially called whiskers) that help them navigate underwater obstacles. In addition, some species of seals are capable of echolocation, with which they determine the location of prey underwater. True, their echolocating abilities are much less developed than those of whales.

Origin of the species

It is known that the ancestors of pinnipeds mammals once freely walked the earth. Later, perhaps due to deterioration climatic conditions they were forced to dive into the water. At the same time, most likely, real and eared seals originated from different animals.

Scientists believe that the ancestors of the real, or ordinary, seal were creatures similar to otters that were found in the North Atlantic fifteen million years ago. The eared seal is more ancient - its ancestors, dog-like mammals, twenty-five million years ago lived in northern latitudes Pacific Ocean.

Peculiarities

The front flippers of true seals are much smaller than the back flippers. The latter are always stretched back and do not bend at the heel joint. They are unable to serve as a support when moving on land, but in the water the animal swims precisely thanks to them, making powerful strokes. The eared seal moves in the water in a completely different way. He swims like a penguin, sweepingly working with his forelimbs. Its rear flippers perform only the function of a rudder.

The body of seals is covered with hard, short hair, which does not impede their movement in the water column. At the same time, the fur of seals is very thick and is highly valued in the fur trade. The body of seals is also protected from the cold by a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, which takes on the main thermoregulatory function. The color of the body in most species is dark - gray, brown, some species may have a speckled pattern or a contrasting color.

reproduction

During the breeding season, most species of true seals form pairs. Of these, only seals and long-snouted seals are polygamous. The female's pregnancy lasts from 280 to 350 days, after which one cub is born - already sighted and fully formed. The mother feeds him with fatty milk from several weeks to one month, stopping feeding already when the seal is still unable to get food on its own. For some time, babies starve, surviving at the expense of accumulated fat reserves.

Due to the thick white fur covering the skin and almost imperceptible against the background of snow, the newborn seal was nicknamed "belek". The seal, however, is not always born white: the pups sea hares, for example, olive-brown color. As a rule, females try to hide babies in "burrows" made of snow between ice hummocks, which contributes to their better survival.

Since seals are clumsy on land, the mother is completely unable to protect her child, in case of danger, she only tries to hide with the cub in the opening, and if he is still too small, she escapes alone. For this reason, mortality is very high among puppies.

The main enemies of seals on earth are also ... people. If bears hunt seals of all ages (they are quite capable of killing an adult), then people hunt exclusively for seals. After all, it is their children's fur that has the greatest density and quality.

The seal trade is disgustingly simple - the cubs are simply beaten with sticks in front of the helpless mother. Moreover, the "raw materials" are harvested in such quantity, which in modern times just unjustified.

southern views seals because of the desert of the Antarctic lands do not have enemies on land. But danger awaits them in the water, where seals can be killed. Some species of seals are on the verge of extinction due to the destruction of natural habitats. For example, the monk seal is deprived of its rookeries, since the coasts mediterranean sea almost 100% occupied by human infrastructure.

Eared seals during the breeding season gather in fairly large herds on secluded coastal areas and islands. The first to appear on the shore are males, who, trying to capture larger areas, arrange fights with each other. Then females appear on the rookery.

After some time, each of them gives birth to a cub, and soon after that they again mate with a male, who continues to guard his territory. The aggression of male eared seals fades with the end of the breeding season. Then these animals begin to spend more and more time in the water. In colder latitudes, they migrate to spend the winter where it is a little warmer, and in more favorable conditions they can stay near their rookeries all year round.

Habitat

Seals are very widely distributed; in total, the ranges of different species cover the entire Earth. Seals have reached the greatest diversity in the cold latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic, but the monk seal, for example, lives in the Mediterranean. All species of seals are closely associated with water and live either on the coasts of the seas and oceans, or on vast expanses of pack (perennial) ice.

Behavioral features

Most often, seals form group concentrations - rookeries - on the shore or on an ice floe. Unlike other species of pinnipeds (fur seals, sea lions, walruses), true seals do not form dense and numerous herds. They also have a much weaker herd instinct: for example, seals feed and rest independently of each other and only monitor the behavior of their brethren in case of danger.

These animals do not quarrel among themselves (with the exception of mating season), there have been cases when, during molting, seals scratched each other's backs in a friendly way, helping to get rid of old wool.

Seals are able to dive great depth and is underwater long time. The record holder in this is the Weddell seal, which can stay under water for 16 minutes, while diving to a depth of 500 m!

Seals feed on a variety of aquatic animals - fish, mollusks, large crustaceans. Different types they prefer to hunt different prey, for example, the leopard seal - for penguins, the crabeater seal - for crustaceans, etc.

In the broad sense of the word, seals can be considered all representatives of the Pinnipeds order, but usually this name means animals from the family of true seals. They are closely related to members of the eared seal family (fur seals and sea lions) and walruses. Distant relatives of seals are on the one hand land predators, and on the other - cetaceans, who have switched entirely to an aquatic lifestyle. The variety of seals is relatively small, there are about 20 species in total.

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina).

The appearance of seals clearly indicates their aquatic lifestyle. At the same time, they have not completely lost their connection with the land like cetaceans. All types of seals are quite large animals weighing from 40 kg (for seals) to 2.5 tons (for elephant seals). However, even animals of the same species vary greatly in weight at different times of the year because they accumulate seasonal fat reserves. The body of the seals is elongated and valky at the same time, the contours of the body are streamlined, the neck is short and thick, the head is relatively small with a flattened skull. The limbs of the seals turned into flat flippers, with the hands and feet being most developed, and the shoulder and femoral girdle shortened.

Common seal on land.

Usually, when moving on land, seals rely on their forelimbs and stomach, while the hind legs drag along the ground. In the water, the front fins act as a rudder and are hardly used for rowing. This differs significantly from the mode of movement of eared seals, which actively use all limbs to move both on land and under water. True seals do not have auricles, and the ear canal is closed by a special muscle during diving. Despite this, seals have good hearing. But the eyes of these animals, on the contrary, are large, but short-sighted. This structure of the organs of vision is characteristic of aquatic mammals. Of all the sense organs, seals have the best developed sense of smell. These animals perfectly capture smells at a distance of 200-500 m! They also have tactile vibrissae (colloquially called whiskers) that help them navigate underwater obstacles. In addition, some species of seals are capable of echolocation, with which they determine the location of prey underwater. True, their echolocating abilities are much less developed than those of dolphins and whales.

The "smiling" face of the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx).

Like most aquatic animals, seals do not have external genitalia, or rather, they are hidden in the folds of the body and are completely invisible from the outside. In addition, seals do not have sexual dimorphism - males and females look the same (the exception is the hooded seal and the elephant seal, the males of which have special "decorations" on the muzzle). The body of seals is covered with hard, short hair, which does not impede their movement in the water column. At the same time, the fur of seals is very thick and is highly valued in the fur trade. The body of seals is also protected from the cold by a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, which takes on the main thermoregulatory function. The color of the body in most species is dark - gray, brown, some species may have a speckled pattern or a contrasting color.

Sea leopard on the shore.

Seals are very widely distributed; in total, the ranges of different species cover the entire globe. Seals have reached the greatest diversity in the cold latitudes of the Arctic and Antarctic, but the monk seal, for example, lives in the Mediterranean. All species of seals are closely associated with water and live either on the coasts of the seas and oceans, or on vast expanses of pack (perennial) ice.

A crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) naps on a drifting iceberg shard.

Several species of seals (Baikal, Caspian seals) live in isolation in the inland lakes of the continents (Baikal Island and the Caspian Sea, respectively). True seals roam over short distances, they are not characterized by long migrations like fur seals, for example. Most often, seals form group concentrations - rookeries - on the shore or on an ice floe. Unlike other species of pinnipeds (fur seals, sea lions, walruses), true seals do not form dense and numerous herds. They also have a much weaker herd instinct: for example, seals feed and rest independently of each other and only monitor the behavior of their brethren in case of danger. Between themselves, these animals do not quarrel (with the exception of the mating season), there have been cases when, during the molt, seals scratched each other's backs in a friendly way, helping to get rid of old wool.

Seals bask on the coastal cliff.

Seals on the shore are clumsy and helpless: they usually lie close to the water, from time to time diving into the polynya for prey. In case of danger, they rush to dive, while moving with visible effort, but once in the water they swim quickly and easily. Seals are able to dive to great depths and stay under water for a long time. The record holder in this is the Weddell seal, which can stay under water for 16 minutes, while diving to a depth of 500 m!

Seals feed on a variety of aquatic animals - fish, mollusks, large crustaceans. Different species prefer to hunt different prey, for example, the leopard seal - on penguins, the crabeater seal - on crustaceans, etc.

The leopard seal caught the penguin.

All species of seals breed once a year. During the rut, skirmishes arise between males. Male hooded seals have an outgrowth on their nose, which inflates when the animal is excited. Puffing out their noses and roaring loudly, Ukrainians fight for the attention of females. Elephant seals have a fleshy nose and look like a short trunk; angry males during clashes not only roar and puff out their noses, but also bite each other, causing serious wounds. Pregnancy of females lasts almost a year. Seals always give birth to only one, but large and developed cub.

In many seals, the pups are covered with children's white fur, which is completely different from the coloration of adults, which is why they are called pups.

Although pups at first cannot accompany their mother in the water, they are well adapted to low temperatures and the first time is constantly spent on ice. Babies grow fast thanks to extremely high-fat milk rich in protein.