# Hooded seal (*Cystophora cristata*)

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

The hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), also called bladder-nose or bladdernose seal, is a mammal in the family Phocidae of the order Carnivora. It is a marine, diurnal piscivore, and with an adult body mass of 288.3 kg it falls in the giant size class (adult body mass over 250 kg). The hooded seal is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 245.4 kg – 288.3 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 35 years |
| Diet | Piscivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 335 days – 356 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.05 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Phocidae
- genus: Cystophora
- species: *Cystophora cristata* (Erxleben, 1777)

Synonyms: *Cystophora antillarum*, *Cystophora borealis*, *Cytophora cristata*, *Phoca cristata*, *Phoca mitrata*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the hooded seal?

The hooded seal is a marine mammal in the family Phocidae, order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia.

### How heavy is a hooded seal?

An adult hooded seal has a body mass of 288.3 kg, placing it in the giant size class (adult body mass over 250 kg).

### What does the hooded seal eat?

The hooded seal is a piscivore, a carnivore that feeds on fish.

### Is the hooded seal endangered?

Yes. The hooded seal is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does a hooded seal live?

The hooded seal has a lifespan of 35 years.

### How many young does a hooded seal have?

A hooded seal has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 334.6 days (up to 356.1 days).

## 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: Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hooded-seal