Three records of hooded seals, Cystophora cristata Erxleben, from the western Beaufort Sea were obtained between 1970 and 1975. Two of these sightings were verified. The third seal was identified based on descriptions from Eskimo informants. During a period of 106 days in captivity, seal Number 2 increased in weight by 51% at a rate of 0.45 kg per day. Its length increased by 12.3 cm

Burns, John J.

Gavin, Angus

English

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ARCTIC VOL. 33, NO. 2 (JUNE 1 W ) .  P. 326-329 Recent Records of Hooded Seals, Cystophora cristata Erxleben, from the Western  Beaufort  Sea JOHN J. BURNS' and ANGUS GAVIN2 ABSTRACT. Three records of hooded seals, Cystophoru cristatu Erxleben, from the western Beaufort Sea were obtained between 1970 and 1975. Two of these sightings were verified. The third seal was identified based on descriptions from Eskimo informants. During a period of 106 days in captivity, seal Number 2 increased in  weight by 51% at a rate of 0.45 kg per day. Its length increased by 12.3 cm. RfiSUMfi. Entre 1970 et 1975, trois mentions de phoques B capuchons, Cysrophora cristatu, dtaient obtenues de la partie occidentale de la mer de Beaufort. Deux de ces observations dtaient verifides. Le troisibme phoque dtait indentifid B partir de descriptions faites par des informateurs Esquimeaux. Pendant une periode de captivitd de 106 jours, le poids du phoque No. 2 s'accroissait de 51% au rythme d'une livre parjour. I1 gradissait de 12.3 centimbtres. Traduit par Alain de Vendegies, Aquitaine Company of Canada Ltd. INTRODUCTION Four general areas of hooded seal concentrations during the reproductive season are known. These are: 1) in the White Sea, 2) around Jan Mayen  in the Norwegian Sea, 3) near Newfoundland  in the western Atlantic  and Gulf  of St. Lawrence, and 4) in Davis Strait (Sergeant, 1974; 1976). We are aware of three recent records of these seals in the western Beaufort Sea, the details of which are reported here. CASE  HISTORIES Information about these three hooded seals, designated as Numbers 1, 2, and 3,  is presented in Table 1. Seal Number 1 was discovered at approximately 0830 on 10 September 1972 by Angus Gavin. It was seen in the water about 20 m distant from the west side of a short causeway which extends into Prudhoe Bay. It was in water approximately 0.75 m deep. The seal did  not  move  until it was  touched but  then  it  vigorously charged. It did  not attempt to move  into deeper water or to escape. Each time the seal was approached it  lunged  aggressively and, in this manner, was enticed into very shallow water where it was almost completely visible. Numerous photographs were taken and its length and 'Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 1300 College Road, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 21 12-59 Wilmot Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3L U8 RECORDS OF HOODED SEALS 327 Table 1. Information about two verified and one reported record of hooded seals from the western Beaufort Sea. Record No. 1 2 3* -. Date 10 September 1972  12 December 1975  Summer  1970 Location Prudhoe  Bay  Pmdhoe  Ba Beechey Point Position  70"19'N, 148'19'W 70°26'N, 148'37'W 70"29'N, 149'09'W Sex male  male  male Standard  length  (m) 1.6  (est.) 1.63 Weight  (kg) 120 (est.) 93.2 Relative  age  subadult  subadult  subadult - - *Reported  sighting  of a stranded,  dead seal. The sex and relative  age of this  seal  were  inferred  from descriptive  comments of Eskimo  informants. weight  were estimated. It was  recognized as a  male  hooded  seal approximately 2 to 3 years old. At 1230 the seal was still in the vicinity of where  it  was  originally seen, having  moved  away  from the beach  line.  At 1430 it had  left the area and was  not  resighted. The seal appeared to be  healthy  and  vigorous, except for a  slight opaqueness of the eye. At the time this seal was  found the weather was quite mild. There was  no ice in the bay, winds were light from the east, there were occasional snow flurries, and the temperature was -2°C. Seal Number 2 was first seen on the night of 11 December 1975. It was reported by workers in the Prudhoe Bay  oilfield  who  had seen an  unidentified but strange animal on the snow-covered [tundra, in the beam of their headlights. On 12 December this seal, thought to be a spotted seal (Phocu vitulinu lurghu), was caught by  workmen  from  British  Petroleum  Alaska, Inc. and  shipped to John Bums in Fairbanks, Alaska.  Upon arrival in Fairbanks, it was  immediately  recognized as a  hooded seal. This  animal  was  maintained in the animal research facility at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks from 13 December 1975 to 7 April 1976. The circumstances of this sighting  and capture were reconstructed based  on conversations and correspondence with persons involved.  Apparently the seal was first seen on 11 December when  it  surfaced  in  a  hole cut through the ice of the Kuparuk River at a location approximately 10 km from its mouth (70"20'N,  148'59'W). The hole  in the completely  ice-covered  river  was  made by  men for purposes of obtaining fresh water for an oilfield  camp. The seal apparently did  not  emerge  from the river at the time  it  was first seen. Tracks on the snow-covered tundra, leading to  the capture site, indicated that the seal had  moved  overland a distance of 14.4 km from the direction of the Kuparuk River. At the time of capture the seal appeared healthy, vigorous, and was  very  aggressive. It was captured with a lariat. 328 . J . J .  BURNS and ANGUS GAVlN Weather records for the Prudhoe  Bay area on the morning of 12 December are not  available. However, the general  conditions  were: wind moderate  from the northeast and temperature about -35°C with  light  snow  and  blowing snow. All of the lakes and rivers in the vicinity of Prudhoe Bay were completely covered by ice. There was an air space between the water and ice of the Kuparuk River due to reduced winter  flow  and  significant  pumping.  Sea  ice extended seaward from shore for approximately 30 km. Seal Number 2 was first weighedhand measured on 22 December 1975. It was  vigorous  but appeared lean. Between that date and 7 April 1976, while  it was  maintained at the University of Alaska,  it  gained 47.7 kg to 140.9 kg, a 51% increase at an average rate of 0.45 kg per day for 106 days. Its length increased  by  approximately 12.3 cm, to 1.74 m. Hooded seal Number 3 was a reported sighting of a beached, dead  animal which  was  not  examined  by either of us. The carcass of a partially decomposed seal on the beach at Beechey Point was seen several times during aerial surveys of birds by Angus Gavin in August 1970. The remains suggested that it  was a hooded seal. It was  not  possible  to  land  near the seal to examine it. In 1972, after photographs of seal Number 1 (a male) were shown to several Eskimo men working at Prudhoe Bay, they indicated that the carcass of a similar  seal  was  found  by  them  during the summer of 1970, at Beechey  Point. The location coincided  with the unverified  sighting  made  by Angus Gavin. Descriptions provided by the Eskimo men indicate that this hooded  seal  was also a subadult  male. The exact date and  conditions under which  this seal became stranded are unknown. The circumstantial evidence available to us  and the subsequent sightings  of two additional hooded seals are convincing enough to warrant inclusion of this report as a record for the western Beaufort Sea. DISCUSSION Hooded seals are described as inhabiting the heavy  pack  ice of the central and western North Atlantic (Dunbar, 1949; Sergeant, 1974; 1976). A whelping population  in  Davis Strait, discovered in the middle  nineteenth century, was recently rediscovered (Sergeant, 1974). This population, reported to occur between 63'30'N and 64"20'N, is the group closest to the Beaufort Sea. Hooded seals, especially juveniles, are known to wander extensively. Previously reported extralimital records include one from Ellesmere Island and two from the eastern Beaufort Sea: one at Tuktoyaktuk in 1942-43, and the other at Herschel Island  in 1931 (Porsild, 1945; Anderson, 1947; Dunbar, 1949). Sergeant (1974) has summarized the reported extralimital records of 19 hooded seals from eastern North America including one from the Atlantic coast of central Florida, originally reported by Miller (1917). Of these, 14 were single subadults and three were adults (2 of which  were  females) accompanied  by  young. Richardson (1975) reported a subsequent record of a female with pup from Maine. Mohr (1963) reported extralimital records of hooded seals in Europe. RECORDS OF HOODED SEALS 329 The three sightings  from the western Beaufort Sea (all considered as strandings) reported in this paper were  from  an area with a coastline of about 37 km. The seals which  were  alive  when  found appeared to have been disoriented in the sense that seal Number 1 made no immediate attempt to escape seaward when disturbed, and  seal  Number 2 was apparently trapped by freezeup in the Beaufort Sea. Other occurrences of hooded seals in waters adjacent to Alaska have undoubtedly occurred. Eskimo hunters of Little Diomede Island, in Bering Strait, recall stories of a hooded seal having been killed there in the early 1900’s. Additionally, there is a vague  knowledge about the rare occurrence of this seal expressed in the Eskimo lore of several other villages in northern Alaska. However, we are not aware of any specific records of sightings or kills. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We acknowledge the efforts and assistance of personnel from British Petroleum Alaska, Inc., who captured and shipped seal Number 2 to Fairbanks. Drs. Robert Elmer, Francis H. Fay, and Robert A. Dieterich provided the weights and measurements of this seal while it was maintained at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The manuscript was helpfully reviewed by David E. Sergeant and Charles A. Repenning. This work was supported in part by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Federal Aid Project W-17-R, and by British Petroleum Alaska, Inc. REFERENCES ANDERSON, R. M. 1947. Catalogue of Canadian recent mammals. National Museums of DUNBAR, M. J. 1949. The Pinnipedia of the Arctic and Subarctic. Fisheries Research Board of MILLER, G. S., Jr. 1917. A hooded seal in Florida. Proceedings of the Biological Society, MOHR, E. 1963. A contribution to the natural history of the hooded seal, Cystophoru Cristutu PORSILD, A. E. 1945. Mammals of the MacKenzie Delta. Canadian Field-Naturalist 59:  4-22. RICHARDSON, D. T. 1975. Hooded seal whelps at South Brooksville, Maine. Journal of SERGEANT, D. E. 1974. A rediscovered whelping population of hooded seals Cysrophoru cristutu . 1976. History and present status of populations of harp and hooded seals. Biological Canada, Bulletin No. 102.  238 p. Canada, Bulletin No. 85: 1-22. Washington 30: 121. Erxl., 1777. Z. Saugetierkunde 28: 65-84. Mammalogy 56(3):  698-699. Erxleben and their possible relation to other populations. Polarforschung 44: 1-7. Conservation 10: 95-1 18. 

Recent Records of Hooded Seals, Cystophora cristata Erxleben, from the Western Beaufort Sea

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Recent Records of Hooded Seals, Cystophora cristata Erxleben, from the Western Beaufort Sea

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