A seal of the cold North Atlantic and Arctic waters, the mature male can inflate a pouch on its nose.
Adult males and females have silver-gray fur with dark patches; pups have blue-gray backs and pale bellies.
Satellite tags followed 51 Hooded Seals in the Northwest Atlantic from 2004 to 2008: 33 females and 18 males. Both sexes increased their dive duration during migration, with seasonal peaks around May, October and January. The tagged seals also used different areas at different times of the year.
Males and females also used different areas. The authors discussed whether this spatial separation helps divide food resources or reflects differences in energy needs during fasting periods before breeding and moulting. Comparing dive depth and time at the surface across seasons showed how sex and the annual cycle shape the use of the sea.
IUCN Red List · Endangered · Global
The 2025 global IUCN assessment lists the Hooded seal as Endangered (EN).