Adult seals are recognizable by their black skin, which carries four white markings: a strip around the neck, … See more

The ribbon seal lives in the Arctic parts of the Pacific Ocean. During winter and spring, it hauls out on pack ice to breed, molt, and give birth. During this time, it is found at the ice front in the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. During the winter a… See more

Ribbon seals are rarely seen out on the ice and snow. Their method of movement on the ice is highly specialized. While quickly undulating their body in serpentine motion, they grip into the ice with their claws and use alterna… See more

The diet of ribbon seal consists almost exclusively of pelagic creatures: fish like pollocks, eelpouts, the Arctic cod, and cephalopods such as squid and octopus; young seals eat crustaceans as well. The ribbon seal … See more

Ribbon seals have a polygynous mating system, where males mate with multiple females. Ribbon seals mate and give birth on pack ice rookeries, sea ice that is not connected to land. Males use vocalizations to defend b… See more

Young ribbon seals look like young harp seals, and like these, they were hunted for their fur. Since they do not form herds, ribbon seals were more difficult to catch than harp seals. Since the Soviet Union limited the … See more