Baffin Island
Marine mammals

In the water (and under the ice), the main year-round species is the ringed seal subspecies, the Arctic ringed seal. It lives offshore within 8 km (5.0 mi) of land. In winter, it makes a number of breathing holes in the ice, up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick. It visits each one often to keep the hole open and free from ice. In March, when a female is ready to whelp, she will enlarge one of the breathing holes that has snow over it, creating a small " igloo " where she whelps one or two pups. Within three weeks the pups are in the water and swimming. In summer, some ringed seals keep to a narrow territory about 3 km (1.9 mi) along the shoreline but may move out into the open water. In the spring they spend more time on the surface of the ice.
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