Russia's wildlife ABC: Nerpa
These seals live in both saltwater seas and freshwater lakes – and feel at home everywhere.
Н – Нерпа
In Russia, several seal species are called ‘nerpa’. The most famous is the Baikal seal, a unique species and the only seal in the world that lives in freshwater. Its relative, the Caspian seal, inhabits the brackish waters of the Caspian Sea. The ringed seal is the northernmost of the three – its subspecies live in the Baltic Sea, as well as the Ladoga and Onega lakes and the Arctic.
All ‘nerpas’ are masters of survival in harsh conditions. They sleep right in the water – simply floating like buoys and drifting and spend most of the time awake submerged, occasionally surfacing to take a breath.