Hooded Seal
Hooded Seal
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| ズキンアザラシ | |||
| Character Data | |||
| Romaji | Zukin'azarashi
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| Debut | Kemono Friends (2015 Game) | ||
| Animal Data | |||
| Scientific Name | Cystophora cristata
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| Distribution | North Atlantic
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| Diet | Carnivore
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| Avg. Lifespan | 30-35 years
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| Read More | Hooded seal
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| Conservation | 
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| Hooded Seal | Manga | Nexon Game |
Hooded Seal is a Pinniped Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.
Appearance
Hooded Seal has gray hair with a very large bang in the middle. Said bang also fades into black. At the sides, many strands of white hair pop out to represent whiskers. She has red irides with highlights as well as two 'bands'. The highlights indicate her animal species is not extinct. She wears a black capelet with a hood with white outlining. It is tied with a red ribbon. She has a small gray and black top, and a short skirt, both of which have a pattern seen on the real hooded seal. The top is tied, and the skirt has a red string tied into a ribbon. She has a black and gray striped band around her thighs, and gray-into-black socks with no footwear. Like all Friends, she exhibits traits of the species of animal she once was alongside her human body. This, in her case, is represented by seal flippers on her head (of which the hood has holes for) and the hooded seal's tail.
Series Appearances
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In Real Life
The Hooded Seals are found at high latitudes in the North Atlantic, and seasonally they extend their range north into the Arctic Ocean. There are four major pupping areas: near the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, north of Newfoundland in an area known as the Front, in central Davis Strait, and in the West Ice in the Greenland Sea near the island of Jan Mayen.
During the summer and autumn hooded seals disperse broadly, preferring areas along the outer edges of pack-ice areas. Hooded seals can be seen during the spring, summer and autumn in Svalbard waters, in fjords or in more open water areas – wherever there is pack ice. The global population of hooded seals is approximately 700 0000 animals, of which 87000 belong to the West Ice population.
The Hooded Seal is a large phocid that is silver-grey in colour with irregular black spots covering most of the body; the face is often completely black. The most distinctive physical feature of hooded seals is the prominent nasal ornament borne by adult males. When relaxed the nasal appendage hangs as a loose, wrinkled sac over the front of males’ noses.
Hooded seals are able to make vocalizations such as roars that can be heard easily on land. However, their most important form of communication is produced from the hood and septum. They are able to produce pulses ranging from 500 to 6 Hz, these sounds can be heard on land and in the water.
Hooded seal spends parts of its life on ice blocks that are floating in the ocean, and other part in the water, where it is searching for food. Hooded seals are deep divers that feed on Greenland halibut, a variety of redfish species, squid, and a variety of pelagic fish species including herring, capelin and Atlantic cod. During the autumn their diet in some areas can also include smaller prey such as prawns and polar cod.
The known predators of hooded seals are polar bears and killer whales. However, the poor seal was heavily hunted by humans, adults were hunted for oil and leather.
Protection of hooded seals began when their population was visibly diminishing. Human-caused mortalities of hooded seals have declined dramatically since the implementation of protective measures in the 1980s.
Trivia
- The general name Cystophora comes from a Greek word meaning “bladder-bearer”, referring of course to the Hooded Seal’s hood.
- Hooded Seals are generally more territorial than other seal species and can become aggressive when in defense mode.
- Hooded Seal pups are referred to as “Blue-backs” due to their blue-black colouring which is shed for their adult colouring at around 14 months of age.
References
1. Kovacs, K. (2008). "Cystophora cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
2. Kovacs, Kit. "Hooded Seal". Noerwegian Polar Institute.
3. "Hooded Seal (Cystophora cristata)". National Marine Fisheries Service.
4. "Cystophora cristata Hooded Seal". Animal Diversity Web.