Ring ring: Calling all Earth Rangers – these seals need your help!

Besides being super cute, ringed seals are also super awesome – and super uncommon! Since you might not know a ton about our newest Wildlife Adoptions animal, here’s some fast facts to get you up to speed!

1. Ringed Seals live in the Arctic, and spend lots of time swimming in the frigid waters (they can dive for up to 45 minutes at a time!). They don’t mind the chill because they have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm.

Cold? Me?! Nope!

2. Ringed Seals carve out snow dens to protect themselves from predators. Each den is built with a hole in the ice so they can grab a quick snack from the water below!

 3. Ringed Seals give birth to their babies (called pups) in special lairs on the ice. Arctic ice is super important because it allows the babies to be protected from predators like polar bears.

A baby Ringed Seal hangs out on the Arctic ice.

4. Ringed Seal pups are adorable – they have a fluffy white coat of fur!

5. These seals enjoy cod – it’s what most of their diet is made of – but they’ll also eat other Arctic fish and shellfish, which they find in the Arctic’s underwater kelp forests.

6. They need our help!

Underwater kelp forests provide marine mammals like the ringed seal with the food they need to survive, but they also help slow down climate change by storing carbon, and even act as nurseries for fish and other underwater animals! They’re a really important piece of the Arctic biodiversity puzzle, which is why it’s so important to learn as much as we can about these incredible ecosystems – and how they might be affected by climate change – as we can.

Earth Rangers is working with Laval University researcher Camille Lavoie on a project that will help us learn more about the amazing biodiversity of the Arctic’s kelp forests. By surveying the plants and animals found in kelp forests and learning more about just how these ecosystems support such high biodiversity, we can help protect this important habitat and the animals that rely on it for years to come!

Head to the Adoptions Section in the Earth Rangers App or visit the Earth Rangers Shop to get your Adoption Kit and help make a difference today!

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