The bearded seal lives in shallow Arctic and subarctic seas where seasonal sea ice forms.
It has a gray to brown body, a short snout and long, thick white whiskers.
In October of 2004, 2005, and 2006, researchers tagged 26 bearded seals younger than two years in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. The instruments recorded locations and diving, and the group included 13 females and 13 males. Most animals moved south with the advancing sea ice into the Bering Sea, where they spent winter and early spring.
The analysis used frequent position data from 17 seals in the Bering Sea. Young seals selected locations near the ice edge, and selection increased with ice concentration up to about 80% when other factors were held equal. Aerial surveys, which mostly represented adults, found higher abundance farther north in heavier pack ice.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Most young bearded seals tagged in Kotzebue Sound moved south with advancing sea ice into the Bering Sea, where they spent winter and early spring. Their locations were concentrated near the ice edge, linking seasonal sea-ice conditions with habitat use by young seals.