Ringed Seal
Relatives in same Genus
Ribbon Seal (P. fasciata)
Harp Seal (P. groenlandica)
Spotted Seal (P. largha)
Harbor Seal (P. vitulina) ...
Ringed seals feed from late summer to early spring on saffron cod, Eleginus gracilis, shrimp, amphipods, and euphausiids. In the fall, ringed seals feed on saffron cod, and and winter to early spring mainly on Arctic cod.
Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida)
No photo of the Ringed Seal available.
The Ringed Seal is from the order Carnivora. The Carnivora (or carnivores) are meat eating mammals.
Ringed seal, Pusa hispida
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Where are they found? Greenland, North America ...
Ringed Seal Range
Fast Facts
Type: Mammal Diet: Arctic cod and crustaceans Average life span in the wild: 40 years Size: Up to 5 ft (1.65m) Weight: Up to 150 lbs (70 kg) Group name: Colony Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) ...
Ringed seal
Pusa (Phoca) hispida
Ringed seals are small seals living in the northern hemisphere.
The Ringed seal is the smallest of the arctic seals; its coat is different across its different range. Generally it is silvery to dark grey on the underside and darker on the back with small, pale ring-like markings over its sides and back.
Ringed seals have dark gray or blackish coats with white or pale gray rings splotched across the back and sides. They are the smallest and most common earless seals of the icy northern seas.
Ringed Seal
Pusa hispida
Rare vagrant along north coastal areas of Massachusetts.
Carnivore. Ringed seals, bearded seals, walrus, and beluga whales.
Predators and Threats
Humans; effects of pollution (PCB's), and limited feeding opportunities due to shorter periods of hard freeze of the sea ice, as a result of global warming.
: The ringed seal is by far the most common prey. They also eat bearded seal, harp seal and hooded seal. Young walrus are sometimes taken.
Rough-legged hawks have been observed consuming ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and caribou (Rangifer tarandus) carcasses [39].
In addition several populations of the normally marine harbor seals and ringed seals are found in freshwater lakes.
There are seven species of seals in Canada; the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), the harp seal (Phoca groenlandica) the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), the ringed seal ...
Members of this family vary tremendously in size, from small ringed seals, which weigh around 90 kg, to massive elephant seals, the males of which weigh up to 3600 kg and are the largest of the pinnipeds. Their bodies are streamlined ("fusiform").
In the wild, these large bears hunt ringed seals, Arctic foxes, birds and baby walruses. They can easily kill a ringed seal with just one blow and can consume up to 200 lbs of food at one time.
Polar bears feed primarily on ringed seals. Bearded seals are taken less often than ringed seals, but are important prey items.
Ringed seal (Pusa hispida)
Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii)
Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus)
Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina)
Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)
Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) ...
Ringed Seal P. hispida - Vagrant.
Bearded Seal Erignathus barbatus - Vagrant.
Hooded Seal Cystophora cristatus - Vagrant.
Harp Seal Pagophilus groenlandicus - Vagrant.
Walrus Odobenus rosmarus - Vagrant.
Pine Marten Martes martes ...
Their primary prey is the ringed seal though they also take bearded, harp and hooded seals and the occasional walrus youngster. They will also scavenge walrus and whale carcasses.
One of the mainstays of the polar bear's diet is the ringed seal which it stalks across the ice or ambushes at a breathing hole. The white-yellow coat of a bear acts as camouflage against the snow-coloured background.
DIET Polar bears are the most carnivorous of all the bears and live almost entirely on ringed seals, and to a lesser degree, on bearded seals. They are also known to prey on young walruses and occasionally even capture narwhals and belugas.
Wild: primary food is ringed seals (2nd is bearded seals), harp seals, hooded seals, & walrus & whale carcasses when available; in summer, also eat berries, crabs, plants, small rodents, seaweed, starfish, sea cucumbers, etc.
Varies; up to 45 years in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and 14 years in male elephant seals (Mirounga leonina)
RANGE:
Coastlines and ice fronts throughout the world except the Indian Ocean. Some species are found in inland lakes.
Almost exclusively feed on ringed seals and to a lesser extent bearded seals
Also eat walrus, beluga whale and bowhead whale carcasses, birds, vegetation and kelp
Population ...
It feeds mainly on seals, especially Ringed seals that poke holes in the ice to breathe, but will eat anything it can kill: birds, rodents, shellfish, crabs, seals, Beluga whales, walruses, occasionally Musk Oxen, ...
Bear of the Sea: The semiaquatic polar bear was once considered to be nomadic, but has since been shown to have a very large home range — up to about 115 square miles. Ringed seals are their preferred prey, but in winter, ...
Sizes
The largest pinnipeds are the male southern elephant seal (right), at more than 3600 kg, and the male walrus, at more than 3.5m and 1700 kg. The smallest is the ringed seal, at about about 1m in length and 60 kg in weight.
Similar species: Sea lions and fur seals"these have no spots, but do have external ears and can rotate hind flippers forward. Elephant seal"this species is larger and has no spots. Ringed seal" has spots, but is also streaked along the back.
The only venomous mammals - duckbilled platypus (males only), several species of shrews, and the Solenodon
Fat - The blue whale has the thickest layer of blubber, but ringed seal pups have the greatest percentage of fat (about 50 %).
 See also: Harp Seal, Sea Lion, Arctic Fox, Elephant Seal, Elephant
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