Six
groups of seals threatened by shrinking sea ice are gaining new protections
under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the National Oceanographic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced late last week.
NOAA
will list as threatened two distinct bearded seal populations — one in the
Beringia region, which includes Alaska, and one in the Okhotsk region of
Russia's far east — and three subspecies of ringed seals (Arctic, Okhotsk and
Baltic). Another ringed seal subspecies found only in Lake Ladoga in
northwestern Russia will be listed as endangered. A fifth subspecies of ringed
seal, the Saimaa in Finland, is already listed as endangered under the ESA.
Forecasts
predict that sea ice will be substantially reduced within this century, and
there is potential for the spring and summer ice edge to retreat to deep waters
of the Arctic Ocean basin. Bearded seals live on sea ice during critical months
for breeding, whelping, nursing and molting. Ringed seals also use sea ice for
molting and they build snow caves on top of sea
ice to shield their pups from freezing temperatures and predators.
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