A seal of the North Pacific and southern Arctic Ocean whose mature coat has pale bands around the neck, foreflippers and hips.
Mature seals have pale bands around the neck, foreflippers and hips. Males have white bands on a dark brown to black coat; females have paler bands on a silvery-gray to dark brown coat. The bands are less distinct in young seals.
It is usually solitary in the open ocean, gathering on pack ice in spring to give birth, nurse pups and molt. It eats fish, cephalopods and crustaceans, though feeding records are limited.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.