Spotted seal

점박이물범

A silver-grey seal speckled with dark spots and big dog-like eyes. It pups on sea ice in winter, and a small population hauls out on Baengnyeong Island in Korea.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea and Sea of Okhotsk coasts
Diet: Meat eater (carnivore)
Weight: about 95 kg
Length: about 1.8 m
Lifespan: up to about 35 years
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: coasts, polar regions

Quick answers

Where does the Spotted seal live?

It lives in coasts, polar regions of the Pacific and Arctic oceans. On the globe you can find it near Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea and Sea of Okhotsk coasts.

How big is the Spotted seal?

It grows to about 1.8 m and 95 kg.

What does the Spotted seal eat?

Its diet: meat eater (carnivore).

How long does the Spotted seal live?

It can live up to about 35 years.

Is the Spotted seal endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

The spotted seal is a silver-grey seal covered with dark, irregular spots. It lives in the cold seas of the North Pacific and nearby waters, including the Bering, Okhotsk and Yellow seas and the Sea of Japan. Adults are about 1.5 to 2.1 metres long and weigh roughly 82 to 109 kilograms. It has a round head and a narrow snout that looks a little like a dog's.

It spends much of the year on sea ice and in the water. In winter and spring mothers give birth to white-furred pups on drifting ice. A small group also spends time around Baengnyeong Island in South Korea, and the species there is protected as Natural Monument No. 331.

Ice, pups and growing up

Spotted seals mate in spring, and about a year later the mother has one pup on a sheet of drifting ice. The pup's white, fluffy coat blends in with the ice, and it is nursed for only two to three weeks. After a few weeks the white fur is replaced by the spotted adult coat. Seals can live around 30 years.

Spotted seals in Korea

Some spotted seals travel south to the Yellow Sea and spend the warmer months near Baengnyeong Island in South Korea. They are a rare sight there, and the population is small. The species is protected, and the sea ice they need to raise pups is shrinking in parts of the Arctic as the climate warms.

Fun facts

In South Korea it is Natural Monument No. 331, and many gather around Baengnyeong Island in summer.
Newborn pups wear a white fluffy coat that hides them on the ice.
The name comes from the dark, irregular spots on its coat.
In South Korea it is Natural Monument No. 331.
It is sometimes mistaken for the harbor seal, a close relative.

On the globe

On the toy globe the spotted seal is placed around the seas of Northeast Asia, including the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. Look for the spotted silver coat and round head.