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ringed seal
mammal
Also known as: Phoca hispida, Pusa hispida
Mysterious Greenland shark: Hunter or scavenger?An injured ring seal escaping from a polar bear as a Greenland shark awaits.
See all videos for this articleringed seal, (Pusa, or Phoca, hispida), nonmigratory, earless seal (family Phocidae) of North Polar seas and a few freshwater lakes in Europe and on Baffin Island. Named for the characteristic pale rings on its grayish or yellowish coat, the ringed seal grows to about 1.5 m (5 feet) in length and 90 kg (200 pounds) in weight. It lives near the pack ice and feeds on crustaceans, mollusks, and some fish. The female bears a single white-coated pup each year in a den dug into the snow. A common species, the ringed seal is important to the Inuit (Eskimos) as a source of leather, oil, and meat. Ringed seals are related to Capsian seals (P. caspica) and Baikal seals (P. sibirica).
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by John P. Rafferty.
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