Bearded seal habitat is a year-round with moving ice. They avoid shore ice and thick unbroken ice. Today we went through prime habitat for the bearded seal. Moving between stations, we encountered a series of ice ridges and thick undulations in the ice. The ship maneuvered to a ribbon of thin ice that would allow us to bypass it. The ice in the ribbon looked like a frozen river.
A ribbon of thin ice
A ribbon of thin ice
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
A series of ice ridges
A series of ice ridges
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
It was there where we passed numerous seal holes that the bearded seal uses for breathing. If the seal holes were close enough to the ship, water would overflow out of the holes. By using the fore limbs they keep their holes ice free. The holes were widely distributed throughout the area. Generally they can swim underwater 5-10 minutes at a time but have been known to swim up to 20 minutes per dive.
A seal hole in the Healy's shadow
A seal hole in the Healy's shadow
A seal hole in the sea ice near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.
We saw two of them off in the distance, well over 1000m away, resting on the sea ice near an open lead. The seals were identifiable with binoculars but too far for clear pictures. Bearded seals forage mainly on invertebrates on the bottom, as well as taking fish opportunistically. The water depths were 70 meters in the ship's track. They make seasonal migrations following the movement of the ice. At this time of year, bearded seals are widely dispersed throughout the northern Bering Sea. In addition, we saw several bearded seals and walruses surface in the leads and open water.
A polyna near St. Lawrence Island
A polyna near St. Lawrence Island
A polyna in the Bering Sea south of St. Lawrence Island.
Bearded seals are quite large, attaining weights of 750 pounds in late winter and early spring. An adult averages 93 inches in length. While they are occasionally prey for polar bears, polar bears primarily prey on ringed seals. A crewmember did see a polar bear in an area of ice ridges today within an hour of seeing the bearded seals on the ice. We saw quite a few polar bear tracks today.
Polar bear tracks
Polar bear tracks
Polar bear tracks on the sea ice near St. Lawrence Island.
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island
The sea ice near St. Lawrence Island
The sea ice and ice ridges near St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea.