On Lake Baikal, about 30 seals on an ice floe sailed to the Angara. A video of sea animals drifting on an ice floe was published by the Baikal Museum of the Irkutsk Scientific Center of the SB RAS.
The incident took place on April 5th. An ice floe about 15 m long broke away from the edge of the ice cover of Lake Baikal. At first, there were two seals on it, and after 15 minutes – no less than 15 individuals. New animals continued to gather towards the ice from all sides. Soon a haul-out of about 30 individuals was formed.
Experts told IA IrkutskMedia that the occurrence of seals on floating ice is a common occurrence. Animals molt, and this process proceeds better under the rays of the sun. However, it is unusual in this case that the molting process began so early, as well as the fact that the seals got out onto the ice floe at the source of the Angara.
Scientists want to find out where these seals came from, whether they hibernated near the edge of the ice, or came from afar. If it turns out that local animals rode on the ice, wintering under the edge of the ice, ichthyologists will have to reconsider their ideas about the reserves of the lake. And if it turns out that the seals that sailed to the Angara have recently sailed to the source, scientists will reconsider their ideas about the migration possibilities of these animals.