Ringed Seal
Phoca hispida

Where do ringed seals live?

Ringed seals live from about 35°N (just south of the Sea of Okhotsk) to the North Pole. In Alaska they are found throughout the Beaufort, Chukchi and Bering Seas as far south as Bristol Bay in the southern Bering Sea. These seals use sea ice to rest, give birth, and molt. Ringed seals prefer areas with high ice cover, either in fast ice along coastal areas, or in the interior ice pack, away from the ice edge. They are believed to remain associated with ice throughout the spring and summer.

What do ringed seals eat?

The diet of ringed seals includes shrimp, amphipods, euphausiids, squid, sculpins, and arctic cod.

Learn more about ringed seals!