The ringed seal, AKA the Jar Seal, and known as Netsik or Nattiq by the Inuit people, is the smallest and most common seal in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

Scientific Name – Pusa hispida

Classification – Pusa

Gender Names – Male – bull; Female – cow; Baby – pup

Collective Noun – Herd, pod, rookery, harem

Length/Size – 100 to 175 cm (39.5 to 69 in)

Weight – 32 to 140 kg (71 to 309 lb)

Top Speed – 10 km per hour on average

Life Expectancy – 15 to 20 years

Gestation Period – 9 months

Special Features – Has a small head, short cat-like snout, and a plump; they are earless

Social Structure – Lives in medium to large groups called ‘harems’ consisting of one alpha male and its females

Geographical Distribution – Spread widely across the Arctic and sub-Arctic belt

Natural Habitat – Prefer to rest on ice floe and will move farther north for denser ice

World Population – 2-7 million

Conservation Status – Least Concern

Diet – Mysids, shrimp, arctic cod, and herring

Predators – Polar bears (mostly), also Arctic fox, gulls, killer whales, Greenland sharks and occasionally Atlantic walruses