Bearded Seal

Bearded Seal: A large, bottom-feeding, circumpolar ice seal

Size at birth 1.2m (4 ft); Sexual maturity at 5-7 years; Females have pups every year; Short (12-18 day) nursing period; Longevity about 30 years; Behavior; Mostly solitary; Swims with head and upper back above water; Rests on edge of ice floes with head down to escape quickly; Very vocal underwater during breeding season

Feeds mostly at/near the seafloor, also in water column; Prey include fishes, crabs, shrimps, clams

Circumpolar arctic and subarctic, on continental shelf and in coastal waters; Associated mostly with pack ice, sometimes fast ice

Dark gray/tan, without distinct pattern or spots; Often reddish head and neck (head seems small for body); Square front flippers; Dense thick whiskers on upper lip and cheek