Translation 2783

..... 74
have taken to the water do the pups begin to feed vigorously on
small crusta.ceans.
The adults begin ma-tin,' at trle end of April and conclude it
in i-iay.
It is believed tii:^t th-_ seals do not forci stable pairs at
that time.
The copulation process takes place both in the water and
on the ice. Gestation lasts about 11 monthE,, i.ncluuinL, 2.5 montrls!
of the latent stage of development oi:' t'rle. ovum.
A ve:cy small nu::tber
of fc:malee; mate for the first time on t7,ttéL:LniTlj; 'tllt? a,;c of. l,llree
years, but most of them begin at the ago of four or five yr,rtrs; the
males become sexually mature one or two years later than the females,
and begin to reproduce actively at the age of five or six years.
After matin{; ends the adults and sexually-imn,ature individuals
bei;in the moulting period, which lasts until mid-July, when the ice
finally breaks up. The animo,ls' coats have a brir,hter colour after
the moult.
During, the moult they become very thin, and by July the
thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer has shrunk fro:n.4-5 cm to
1-2 cm. ';Jhen the moult is completed the seals leave tire ice and
begin intensive feeding.
1,11 our information on the composition of ribbon seals' diet
relates to the spring and ecirly sunuaer, when the seals are on the ice.
At that time food is seldom found in their stomachs. Accorïling to
available data, in the Sea of Okhotsk tlle chief items iii their diet
are walleye pollock, cod, capelin; amon,, cephalopods,^sulall octopuses;
and among crustaceans, shrimps. In the Bering t;ea tn_ chief dietary
items are sh.rimps; among fishes, Arctic cod, nïLva^,a, lteri'inF;•, and
some members of the blenny family; octopuses and cuttlefisii are occasionally
found in their stomachs. Small crusta.ceans• preciominate in
the diet of juveniles in both the Sea of Okhotsr: and the Bering ^3ea.
'.Pile
seals may dive to. a depth of 200 metres in s,:arcll of food.
The lonr-;evity limit in populations riot ..ub,,ject to human exploitation
c?oe:t not exceed 26 years. !,reti.e shark;,, killer wl1(l.l_es,
zlld polar bears must be rc:^;o.rcied as theil wost (11ruu:: C .1 es in
rIrLtitrrl'l ou,;di.t;9.on:.. pups, may also C3l.LI'.t'er (1or;rocir1.L•i.o)::: Lrom l.art^a
p;ullrs rl:;u
some of t.-lr:ni a1,;o 7^urir,il durinr; -,,ne ].c;utati.on
l,erio(i trlrotir°rn bei.n"; :,qtteezed hetween blocks of icu. .:"lotller cause
of ül, ly 11G
1.1^."LO"'i'^,IIU.1.' rl..Lt,l.l )1C^lil.lll'tll ta^OC)]^'.l )tfLve 1)Ctl'll fi1111;^1 :1.1. l'll,l>oI, (:ieak.:;.