Jeombagimulbeom

Basic information

Designation

Natural Monument No.331

Category

동식물

Designated year

1982

Location

., 기타— 기타 전국동해, 서해, 남해일원

Coordinates

No precise coordinates are available, so this item is not shown as a map marker. To be added later.

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

The Spotted Seal belongs to the phocidae family and is the smallest in the group, widely distributed throughout the North Pacific, including the California-Aleutian sea region, Kamchatka Peninsula, Kuril Islands, Hokkaido, and Honshu. In Korea, up to 300 individuals have been found in the waters near Baengnyeong Island. It grows up to 1.4m in body length and 90kg in weight, with a rounded and elevated head. Its ear pinnae are very small, its muzzle is narrow at the tip with a central groove, and its neck is short. Its front flippers point forward and hind flippers point backward, making directional changes difficult, so it inhabits marine and freshwater environments while being poorly suited to terrestrial life. The upper body is yellowish-brown with irregularly sized and shaped black spots on the sides and back. The belly of males is yellowish with black spots, while females have a grayish underside, making them distinguishable. Pups are yellowish with dark grayish backs. Primarily inhabiting Arctic regions, it lives among ice with one pup and both parents, feeding on walleye pollock, herring, and large zooplankton. The Spotted Seal faces extinction and is a precious animal adapted to aquatic life as a mammal, therefore designated and protected as a natural monument.