Baikal seal
Pusa sibirica (Gmelin, 1788)
The baikal seal (Pusa sibirica), also called the Nerpa or Lake Baikal seal, is a mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora. It is a large mammal with a representative adult body mass of 89.5 kg, and our sources report adult weights from 50 to 130 kg.
Quick facts about the baikal seal
The baikal seal is a diurnal piscivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level. It has a gestation period of 275.8 days, 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 50 kg – 130 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 56 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Piscivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwatersrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 276 days – 365 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.01src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 5.83 years – 7 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the baikal seal
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the baikal seal live?
Not recorded
What is the baikal seal?
The Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica), also known as Lake Baikal seal or nerpa (нерпа), is a species of earless seal endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. The Baikal seal is one of the smallest earless/true seals, and one of the few exclusively freshwater pinniped species. The related Caspian seal inhabits another lake, albeit being saltwater, the Caspian Sea. Both species are closely related to the ringed seal, which inhabits the Arctic Ocean.
A subpopulation of inland harbour seals living in the Hudson Bay region of Quebec, Canada (the Lacs des Loups Marins harbour seals), as well as the Saimaa ringed seal and the Ladoga seal (both ringed seal subspecies), are also found in fresh water, but these seals are part of species that also have marine populations, instead of being distinct species.
The most recent population estimates are 80,000 to 100,000 animals, roughly equaling the expected carrying capacity of the lake. At present, the species is not considered threatened.
From the Wikipedia article “Baikal seal” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Baikal_seal&oldid=1360413281), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the baikal seal endangered?
The baikal seal is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the baikal seal classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyPhocidae
- genusPusa
- SpeciesPusa sibirica (Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms Phoca baicalensis, Phoca sibirica, Phoca vitulina sibirica
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- Lake Baikal sealEnglish
- NerpaEnglish
- فقمة بايكالArabic
- НерпаBelarusian
- Байкалски ТюленBelarusian
- tuleň bajkalskýCzech
- BajkalsælDanish
- BaikalrobbeGerman
- BaikalringelrobbeGerman
- Φώκια της ΒαϊκάληςGreek
- Foca nerpaSpanish
- Foca del BaikalSpanish
- Baikali viigerEstonian
- BaikalinhyljeFinnish
- Phoque du BaïkalFrench
- Phoque de SibérieFrench
- Bajkalski tuljanCroatian
- bajkáli fókaHungarian
- Foca del BajkalItalian
- バイカルアザラシJapanese
- 바이칼물범Korean
- Baikalinis ruonisLithuanian
- Baikāla ronisLatvian
- BajkalselNorwegian Bokmål
- नेर्पाNewari
- BaikalrobDutch
- Foka bajkalskaPolish
- Nerpa bajkalskaPolish
- Байкальская НерпаRussian
- Байкальский ТюленьRussian
- BajkalsälSwedish
- Байкальська нерпаUkrainian
- Нерпа байкальськаUkrainian
- 貝加爾海豹Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the baikal seal
Other species in the same genus Pusa.
Ringed seal
Pusa hispida
Caspian seal
Pusa caspica
CompareBaikal seal vs Ringed sealBaikal seal vs Caspian seal
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a baikal seal?
The baikal seal has a representative adult body mass of 89.5 kg. Our sources report adult weights from 50 to 130 kg.
What does the baikal seal eat?
The baikal seal is a piscivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the baikal seal endangered?
No. The baikal seal is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a baikal seal live?
Our sources give the baikal seal a lifespan of 56 years.
How many young does a baikal seal have?
The baikal seal has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 275.8 days.
When does a baikal seal reach sexual maturity?
The baikal seal reaches sexual maturity at 6.4 years, with reported values from 5.8 to 7.0 years.
What kind of animal is the baikal seal?
The baikal seal is a mammal in the family Phocidae, suborder Caniformia, order Carnivora.
Who named the baikal seal?
The baikal seal, Pusa sibirica, carries the authority (Gmelin, 1788).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/baikal-seal
“Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/baikal-seal.
@misc{baikal_seal_2026,
title = {Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/baikal-seal},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}