Baikal Seals Are Unique

The world’s only exclusively freshwater seal is the Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica), which is found only in Lake Baikal in Siberia. This earless seal is relatively small, with a maximum of about 5 feet long. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth. It has a depth of over 5,000 feet and more freshwater surface area than all of North America’s Great Lakes combined. Lake Baikal is covered with ice most of the year, and the ice thickness can be several feet. Adult Baikal Seals can hold their breaths for up to 30 minutes, but their pups can only go a maximum of 15 minutes.

Researchers are amazed by how the pups survive. Female Baikal seals raise the pups on their own, digging a den under the ice. Some freshwater springs in Lake Baikal maintain holes in the ice. Adult seals use the holes to get air.  After breathing in air, the female will go near her pup and blow bubbles to create an airspace under the ice. Pups live and breathe in that airspace and exercise by expanding the den with a maze of tunnels but never breaking the surface.

Lake Baikal is on a geological structure with no connection to any ocean. The primary food source for Baikal seals is golomyanka fish that live only in Lake Baikal. Researchers estimate that 80-100,000 Baikal seals live in the lake, as well as other unique species not found elsewhere. The evidence shows that every nook and cranny of God’s creation has life specifically designed to survive and prosper in that environment.

— John N. Clayton © 2025

References: PBS documentary and Baikal seal and Lake Baikal in Wikipedia