Nerpa is that animal?

Today we can say with certainty that if the seal, due to a number of serious circumstances, died in the course of evolution as a species, the planet Earth would become much poorer. Why? Answer the question in this article.

After reading it, you will be able to find out information about what the seal animal is, what its value is, what features it has, etc.

general information

The general name of aquatic species of mammals of the family of true seals (Caspian, ringed and Baikal) is a seal.

The marine seal in Russia extends from the coasts of Murmansk to the Bering Strait, including in the waters of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, the White Sea and the Novosibirsk Islands. It inhabits the coastal parts of the Sea of Okhotsk, including its numerous bays, as well as the coasts of the Tatar Strait, the Sakhalin Bay and Eastern Sakhalin. The habitat of seals reaches the shores of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Also there are seals living in a pond with fresh water. For example, the famous Russian Lake Baikal is known throughout the world not only because it is the deepest and most beautiful lake. In its waters there live unique animals, which are nowhere to be found in such water bodies. It is a seal that is endemic and a relic of the tertiary fauna. It is called the Baikal seal.

Description

Who are the seals? These amazing mammals have a spindle-shaped body, smoothly turning into the head.

In growth, they reach 165 cm, and their weight ranges from 50 to 130 kg. The animal's body contains a huge amount of subcutaneous fat, which perfectly preserves heat in cold water and helps the animal to wait for long periods of food shortages, and also to stay on the water surface during the sleep period. They sleep so tightly that even there were cases when scuba divers could turn them around, without disturbing their sleep.

Strong, dense and short hair covering covers the animal's strong skin. Between the fingers they have membranes, and the front fins are equipped with powerful claws. It is thanks to the forelimbs that the seals make an outlet in the ice in order to leave and rest on the rocks or on ice after hunting, and also to inhale fresh air.

Nerpa has a phenomenal ability to stay under water continuously for up to 40 minutes. This is due to the presence of a small volume of lungs and the content of dissolved oxygen in the blood. Thanks to the hind legs, the animal swims fairly quickly under water, but on its surface it is completely clumsy and clumsy.

Nerpa on Lake Baikal

In the past, the Baikal seal was an animal quite revered, especially among the peoples, engaged mostly in sea hunting. Even now, some orcs are laying wild garlic and tobacco in the mouth, because this is for them a kind of sacrifice to Tema, to whom the seal is most directly related, because he is the master of the sea element.

In the old days, the fishing of the Baikal seal was of great economic importance in the livelihoods of the local population, the production of these animals was strictly limited. In comparison with the skins of other species of seals, their fur (both cubs and adults) is the best fur raw material, so they are more appreciated.

The habitat of Baikal seal

In the summer (in June) the shores of Ushkaniye Islands are chosen by a large number of these animals - the islands for them are a cozy natural natural rookery. At sunset the seals begin their mass movement to the islands.

During the severe frosts of Siberia, the lake is completely frozen. Before the onset of cold weather, seals with their teeth and front paws with sharp claws pull out the respiratory holes for themselves. Usually in winter on the surface of a frozen lake most of the time is spent by pregnant females.

About industrial extraction

Nerpa is an animal that contains in large volumes a magnificent fat that has some useful medical properties. The fishing catch of seals today, like hundreds of years ago, pursues the same goals.

Fat of an animal by many people is effectively used in the treatment of certain diseases associated with hypothermia (inflammation, frostbite), and its meat is used for food with a lack of vitamin C (in particular, with scurvy).

And yet the main reasons for large-scale industrial extraction are the most valuable animal skins. Headdresses and clothes from thick and dense fur with a strong skin are very popular both among the inhabitants of the North and in more southern regions.

Reproduction

The calf seal usually appears in mid-March. After the end of winter, the female crawls out of the water to the ice to give birth to babies. But first the females build a lair in the snow for their future pets.

Unfortunately, it is during this period that the seal threatens the greatest danger - to become an easy prey for numerous poachers and hunters. In general, one baby is born to seals, but maybe two, and even more.

The weight of newborns, as a rule, is about 4 kilograms. They are born with very beautiful snow-white skins, providing them with warmth and the most reliable camouflage in the snow.

After moulting, the calf cubs overgrown with silvery fur.

Lifespan

The growth of the seal, both in length and in weight, occurs for a long time (up to 20 years). Some animals die "inferior" as their average age in the population is only 8-9 years. There are times when some seals live up to 40-60 years, but there are very few of them. Approximately half of all individuals are young seals of about 5 years of age. More adult animals (6-16 years old) make up the greater part of the other half of the seal.

Nerpa is an unusual animal and in the sense that its age learned to learn by fangs or claws, on which one can see annual rings, similar to those that are on the cut of a tree.

Food

The basis for feeding the sea seal is fish and crustaceans, which form large clusters in the uppermost layers of the water.

Favorite food of the Baikal seal is the Baikal goby and the fish are golomyanka. For a year this animal uses more than a ton of such food. Rarely does it feed omul, which is about 3% of its daily diet.

Interesting Facts

1. Long and ordinary seals, together with elephant seals, divide one habitat - the ocean.

2. Nerpa is a wonderful diver, able to reach a depth of 400 meters.

3. As a rule, seals do not live in fresh water, but Lake Baikal in Russia has become a real home for some representatives of this family. How did the population of seals appear in Lake Baikal? Until now, this remains a mystery. According to one legend, in these places there is some unknown underground channel connecting the lake with the ocean. Scientists have not found evidence of this fact. The most probable is the path of the seals to Baikal through the Angara and Yenisei. It should be noted that the omul fish also got here in the same way .