BEARDED SEAL 



This seal is also called squaxef Upper and ugruk . It is the only member 

 of its genus and the largest of the phocids in northern areas. It is valued 

 highly by the Eskimos for its meat, blubber, and hide. The skins are par- 

 ticularly useful for boot soles, boat coverings, dog traces, harpoon lines, 

 etc. Off Hokkaido the bearded seal is taken along with other phocids for meat, 

 blubber oil, and skins. 



Description 



Adults of both sexes are similar in size. Two adult males measured 

 7 feet 4 inches and 7 feet 11 inches in length. Six adult females ranged from 

 7 feet 5 inches to 8 feet 5 inches o Although an estimated weight of 800 poimds 

 is published, other estimates of adult weights are about 400 and not more 

 than 500 pounds. The newborn pup measures about 5 feet in length. It is the 

 only hair seal in the far north having no striking marks on its coat. The 

 adult is silver-gray or brownish-gray with a yellowish, orange-brown, or 

 almost rxifous tinge about the head and neck. A darker area, almost sepia, 

 extends from the top of the head down the middle of the back. The pups are 

 silver-gray, mottled dark especially along the sides and back„ The name 

 derives from its dense brush of whiskers which may number 120 pairs. 



Range 



The bearded seal is circumpolar in distribution, reaching its northern 

 limit at 80° to 85° N. Lat. It is not gregarious or ever very numerous in 

 any locality. Although not considered migratory in the usual sense it moves 

 southward sporadically with the winter ice pack in the Bering Sea. It is 

 rarely seen on the Pribilof Islands but is regularly taken at St. Lawrence 

 Island and near the coast of Hokkaido and Sakahalin. 



Breeding habits 



The single young is born in April and May after a gestation period of 11 

 months. Birth takes place on ice floeSo 



Feeding habits 



A bottom feeder, stomach analyses show that it takes shrimps, crabs, 

 sea cucumbers, clams, snails, octopus, and a few such bottom fish as sculpin 

 and flounder. The livers of certain individuals may be poisonous because they 

 contain an excessive amount of stored Vitamin A„ 



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