Hooded Seal: Cystophora cristata

Abstract

This chapter discusses the characteristics, taxonomy, distribution, abundance, and ecology of the hooded seal or Cystophora cristata. The hooded seal is a large phocid that is silver-gray in color with irregular black spots covering most of the body; the face is often completely black. Adult males are about 2.5 m long and weigh an average of 300 kg; large males can be in excess of 400 kg. Adult females are considerably smaller than males, measuring 2.2 m in length and weighing an average of 200 kg. Hooded seal pups are approximately 1 m long when they are born and weigh about 25 kg. They are blue on their backs and silver-gray on their bellies. Hooded seals are pack-ice seals that spend much of the year in association with sea ice. However, they can go on pelagic excursions for many consecutive weeks far from ice-filled waters. During such trips they do not haul out. Hooded seals are deep divers; adult animals can dive to depths of over 1000 m and can remain under water for periods of up to almost an hour. Hooded seals are a migratory species with a range that encompasses a large sector of the North Atlantic. They follow an annual movement cycle that keeps them in close association with drifting pack ice most of the time.