Seals, Sea Lions, and Walrus
| Species | More information | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Bearded seal Erignathus barbatus |
Bearded seals are found in the parts of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas where sea ice forms in the winter. Often weighing more than 750 pounds in the winter, they are the largest true seals found in Alaska waters. However, seasonal weight fluctuations typically result in adults weighing approximately 500 pounds during summer months. Bearded seals are generally solitary and migrate seasonally to follow moving sea ice. When sea ice recedes in summer, bearded seals are densely concentrated, but when sea ice occupies much of the northern seas during winter, bearded seals are much less densely populated. In the Bering and Chukchi seas, Bearded seals generally eat crabs, shrimp, clams, snails, and some fishes. During breeding season, males fight frequently and "sing" underwater with a whistle that is partly audible to humans. Alaska Natives living in western coastal villages depend on bearded seals for hides and subsistence. | |
| Elephant seal Mirounga angustirostris |
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| Hooded seal Cystophora cristata |
Hooded seals generally are found in the Atlantic Ocean, but occasionally individuals wander as far west as Alaska. | |
| Harbor seal Phoca vitulina |
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| Harp seal Phoca groenlandica |
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| Ribbon seal Phoca fasciata |
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| Ringed seal Phoca hispida |
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| Spotted seal Phoca largha |
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| Northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus |
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| Steller's sea lion Eumetopias jubatus |
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| California sea lion Zalophus californianus |
Between 1974 and 2004, 54 California sea lions were reported in Alaska. | |
| Walrus Odobenus rosmarus |
Read more about this topic: List Of Mammals Of Alaska, Carnivorans
Famous quotes containing the words sea and/or walrus:
“Along the iron veins that traverse the frame of our country, beat and flow the fiery pulses of its exertion, hotter and faster every hour. All vitality is concentrated through those throbbing arteries into the central cities; the country is passed over like a green sea by narrow bridges, and we are thrown back in continually closer crowds on the city gates.”
—John Ruskin (1819–1900)
“The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand:
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
“If this were only cleared away,”
They said, “it would be grand!”
“If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose,” the Walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
“I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.”
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)