Baikal Seal

About Baikal Seal

The Baikal Seal or Nerpa (Pusa sibirica) is a species of earless seal endemic to Lake Baikal, the world's largest fresh water lake by volume, located in Siberia near its border with Mongolia. Baikal Seals are unique among seals in several ways:

It remains a scientific mystery as to how the seals originally came to Lake Baikal, as it is hundreds of kilometres from any ocean, although it is speculated that they may have come at a time when a sea-passage linked the lake with the Arctic Ocean (see also West Siberian Glacial Lake and West Siberian Plain). Like the Caspian Seal, they are considered to be related to the Ringed Seal of the Arctic.

The total population is estimated to be over 60,000 animals, and hunting was practiced widely in the past (officially and unofficially), but has been put under tighter restrictions recently because of declining numbers. Hunting Baikal Seals on the frozen Lake Baikal is a dangerous activity, and many such hunters drown every year.