Future polar seals face growing uncertainty. While some species still exist in sizeable numbers, climate change, predators, and human activities are shrinking their habitat through melting sea ice and snow. A collaborative group of scientists has been working on conservation formulas to safeguard these animals, drawing on the long-standing Eskimo heritage and traditional knowledge.
Marine ecologist Brendan P. Kelly, scientific director of Arctic Environmental Change Research and a professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has spent three decades studying the behavior and movements of these marine mammals, with emphasis on the Saimaa ringed seal, Pusa hispida saimensis. His team has built a detailed picture of how these seals use their icy realm and how climate shifts influence their lives.
At a recent conference, Kelly noted that seals have endured for millions of years, an achievement born of bold evolution and the need to survive in a world of predators. Yet the most immediate threats come from human activity and a rapidly warming Arctic.
“Greenhouse gases are rising and our climate is warming,” Kelly explained. “Arctic warming is happening more than twice the global average. The ice sheet acts like a giant mirror, reflecting sunlight away. When it vanishes, dark ocean water absorbs heat even more quickly.”
An example of a ringed seal from Saimaa is shown in a photograph credited to Brendan P. Kelly of the University of Eastern Finland.
Seals are exceptionally well-suited to the harsh conditions they inhabit. They spend most of their lives in the water, yet they can breathe while under snow and even live in snow caves they excavate.
puppies in danger
One major challenge is that seal cubs have fur that offers limited insulation against extreme cold. When mothers come to feed, they warm the snow dens, but if snow cover is too thin, offspring confront risks of predation and freezing. Artificial shelters in the Arctic are also difficult to establish due to the extensive ice habitat.
Indigenous communities rely on seals for food and cultural continuity, and many worry about the future of these creatures. Protected areas declared by governments sometimes restrict access to these marine mammals, a concern among Arctic peoples who have hunted seals for thousands of years and possess extensive knowledge about their way of life.
Two seals in an image captured in Alaska illustrate the importance of this knowledge. The scientists argue that such information should reach politicians and decision-makers in the Arctic, guiding protective measures that include every voice involved. Experts admit that communicating complex research in simple language through stories remains a work in progress, but a joint effort to understand the Eskimos’ perspective while safeguarding the seals is underway.
Better GPS signal than scientists
Among recent findings is a clear picture of breeding behavior. Female seals dive deeply, often beyond 100 meters, in search of food, while males tend to make shallower dives near the breathing holes of females.
Satellite tracking shows a male seal traveling as far as 2,500 kilometers before returning to his original territory. Kelly emphasizes that the seals’ GPS-like tracking often outperforms human observers in revealing movement patterns.
Climate change stands out as a principal threat. It drives declines in key fish populations that make up the seals’ main diet, while North Atlantic warming over the past decades has reduced ice cover around critical breeding areas and increased offspring mortality according to multiple scientific studies.
The Saimaa ringed seal is among Finland’s most distinctive animals, symbolizing the fragility of Arctic ecosystems. Seasonal sea ice has diminished by as much as 6 percent per decade since 1979, the start of satellite monitoring.
Most seals require stable sea ice in winter to give birth and nurture their young until they can swim and hunt on their own. Female seals often seek the thickest, oldest ice sheets in subarctic waters.
The Arctic’s broader fauna also faces danger. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), Arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas), and Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) are in jeopardy, underscoring a wider alarm about the region’s future.
For more information on Arctic conservation efforts, researchers and policymakers are urged to stay connected with on-the-ground knowledge and the latest satellite data, ensuring that science translates into effective protections for these iconic species.