NOAA Fisheries Declares "Unusual Mortality Event" After Seal Deaths Spike 5X In NW Alaska
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NOAA Fisheries received reports of 282 dead seals, almost five times more than the average number of reported strandings, according to the agency. The count included 85 bearded seals, 66 ringed seals, 40 spotted seals and 91 seals that were not identified. The deaths occurred over all age groups. The deaths both years occurred mostly from June to September.
Some stranded seals were missing fur or were skinnier than normal, but the time between death and discovery of a carcass hinder investigators. "Many of the seals have been pretty badly decomposed so it's been hard to identify exactly what the fat layer is," Speegle said. Federal law defines an unusual mortality event as strandings that involve a significant die-off and demand an immediate response. The declaration allows the agency to focus resources on an investigation.
Bearded seals get their name from short snouts covered with thick, long, white whiskers. Bearded seals give birth and rear pups on drifting pack ice.
Ringed seals are the smallest of Alaska's ice seals and are the main prey of polar bears. They get their name from small, light-colored circles on their coats. Ringed seals are the only seals that thrive in completely ice-covered Arctic waters. They use strong claws to maintain breathing holes in thick ice and give birth in lairs dug in snow that accumulates on top of ice. Young pups cannot survive in cold water until they have grown a blubber layer.
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https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-biologists-eye-unusual-deaths-alaska-seals-65576211