# Baikal seal (*Pusa sibirica*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/baikal-seal  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 50 kg – 130 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 56 years |
| Diet | Piscivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | freshwater |
| Gestation | 276 days – 365 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1.01 |
| Age at maturity | 5.83 years – 7 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Pusa
- species: *Pusa sibirica* (Gmelin, 1788)

Synonyms: *Phoca baicalensis*, *Phoca sibirica*, *Phoca vitulina sibirica*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/baikal-seal