Are there still seals at Lake Baikal?

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is home to 80,000 seals. They spend their days zooming through the water in pursuit of delicious fish, crowding onto rocks to sun themselves, and, when winter hits, maintaining breathing holes in the three-foot-thick layer of ice that coats the lake.

Are Baikal seals hunted?

Hunting of Baikal seals is still carried out in the spring, the official annual kill for 2000 being 3,500 seals, mostly pups, a reduction from the 1999 quota of 6,000 seals. This includes a large number that are killed for “scientific purposes”, the 2000 quota for these purposes being 500 pups.

What eats a Baikal seal?

The only known natural predator of adult Baikal seals is the brown bear, but this is not believed to occur frequently. The seal pups are typically hidden in a den, but can fall prey to smaller land predators such as the red fox, the sable and the white-tailed eagle.

What do the seals in Lake Baikal eat?

fish
Food Habits Baikal seals eat mainly fish in the pelagic genera Comephorus and Cottocomephorus. They also eat non-commercially valuable fish, such as golomyanka. These fish move to depths of 20 to 180 meters at night. Baikal seals will also eat invertebrates found in the lake.

How much does a Baikal seal weigh?

200 lbsBaikal seal / Mass (Adult)

What do Baikal seals do in the winter?

In winter they spend most of their time keeping breathing holes open in the three-foot ice. They also scatter across the lake in winter and gather together again in spring and summer. Baikal seals have a seasonal birth cycle so that the pups are weaned just as food becomes more available.

What does the nerpa eat?

Baikal seals, or nerpa as they are locally known are restricted solely to the freshwater Lake Baikal in Russia. They are one of the few species of pinniped which live in freshwater. They feed almost entirely on fish with some invertebrates also consumed.

How much do seals eat a day?

In general, seals consume 4 percent to 6 percent of their body weight daily. The average male grey seal, sporting a dark gray coat with silvery spots, weighs approximately 880 pounds and requires 35 to 52 pounds of food daily. His diet consists of fish, crustaceans, squid and octopuses.

Where do Baikal seals live?

Lake Baikal
The Baikal seal is almost always seen in Lake Baikal in Russia, the world’s deepest lake, though sometimes it is seen in rivers flowing into and out of the lake. It is only found in freshwater.

What are seals favorite food?

Seals do not have a preference for one specific fish species, but they usually catch fish that live close to the sea bottom. Flatfish, lesser sandeel and cod species are their favorite food, although what they eat can vary per season, depending upon what’s available.