RIBBON SEAL Histriophoca fasciata (Zimmermann) 



Order: PINNIPEDIA Family: PHOCIDAE 



Distinguishing characteristics : Adults attain a length of up to 6 1/2 feet; coloration 

 of male — dark brown marked with well-defined yellowish-white band around the neck, 

 one around base of each forelimb, and one around rump; coloration of female--pale 

 grayish -yellow or grayish-brown, with whitish band across lower back. 



Present distribution : In general, from Kurile Islands and Okhotsk Sea northward along 

 the coasts of Kamchatka and in the Bering Straits. Along the Alaska coast, from Point 

 Barrow to the Aleutian Islands . 



Former distribution : Roughly the same . 



Status : Small population. 



Estimated numbers : No estimates . 



Breeding rate in the wild : Young are born on the ice in March, April, and early May. 

 Females probably breed once every 2 years . 



Reasons for decline : This species has apparently always existed in small numbers; 

 there probably has been no decline in recent years . 



Protective measures already taken : None . 



Measures proposed : None at present. 



Numbers in captivity : Unknown . 



Breeding potential in captivity : Unknown . 



References : 



Allen, G. M. 1942. Extinct and vanishing mammals of the Western Hemisphere. 



American Committee for International Wildlife Protection, Spec. Publ . 11, 



pp. 447-449. 

 Allen, J. S. 1880. History of North American pinnipeds; A monograph of the 



walruses, sea lions, sea bears, and seals of North America. U.S. Dept. 



of the Interior, U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, 



Misc. Publ. 12, pp. 676-682. 

 Brooks, J. W. 1963. Management and status of marine mammals in Alaska. 



Trans. N. Amer. Wildl . &Nat. Res. Conf . , 28:314-326. 

 Kenyon, K. W., and V. B. Scheffer . 1955. The seals, sea lions, and sea otter 



of the Pacific Coast; descriptions, life history notes, photographs, and 



drawings. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Circular 32, p. 23. 

 Scheffer, V. B. 1958. Seals, sea lions, and walruses. Stanford Univ. Press, 



p. 103. 



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