Baikal Seal - Distribution

Distribution

The Baikal seal lives only in the waters of Lake Baikal. It is something of a mystery how Baikal seals came to live there in the first place. It can be speculated they swam up rivers and streams or possibly Lake Baikal was linked to the ocean at one point as the result of a large body of water, such as the West Siberian Glacial Lake or West Siberian Plain, formed in a previous ice age. The seals are estimated to have inhabited Lake Baikal for some two million years. The Baikal seal, the Saimaa ringed seal (Pusa hispida saimensis), and the Ladoga seal (Pusa hispida ladogensis) are the only exclusively freshwater seals.

The areas of the lake in which the Baikal seals reside change depending on the season, as well as some other environmental factors. Baikal seals are solitary animals for the majority of the year, sometimes living kilometers away from other Baikal seals. In general, there is a higher concentration of Baikal seals in the northern parts of the lake, because the longer winter keeps the ice frozen for longer, which is preferable for pupping. However, in recent years, there have been migrations to the southern half of the lake, possibly to evade hunters. In winter, when the lake is frozen over, seals maintain a few breathing holes over a given area and tend to remain nearby, not interfering with the food supplies of a nearby neighbour. When the ice begins to melt, the Baikal seals tend to keep to the shoreline.