This winter has been especially mild in the central Bering Sea and this is the earliest recorded fur seal on St. George Island ever.
Observation by Bruce Wright:
The first fur seal of the year, a male, came ashore on St. George, one of the Pribilof Islands located in the Bering Sea. They usually return in May. You can see the seal in the below photo. This winter has been especially mild in the central Bering Sea and this is the earliest recorded fur seal on St. George Island ever. As the climate warms, we are seeing changes in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands.
Comments from LEO Editors:
This observation has also been shared with representatives from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program.
To learn more about the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), check out NOAA's National Marine Fisheries, Office of Protected Resource website.
To view larger image go to Flickr
Observations From Members 