Newly Discovered Arctic Seal Species Identified as "Special" by Scientists

A scientific study involving the utilisation of satellite transmitters, population evaluations, and DNA analysis of tissue samples has managed to characterise the unique Kangia ringed seal located in Ilulissat Icefjord. This distinct seal was recently spotted with a satellite transmitter attached to its back. This photograph was provided by Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Nature Institute.

Local hunters in the Icefjord, around Ilulissat, had an encounter with this exceptional ringed seal, called the Kangia seal. The Kangia seal, differentiated by its size and look, is significantly larger with a strikingly different fur pattern and colour than the customary Arctic ringed seals. Current scientific investigations have revealed that this prominent seal has spent over 100,000 years, genetically isolated from the other Arctic seals.

It is challenging to investigate the Arctic’s natural marvels due to the extreme weather and vast distances which often pose a significant personal hindrance to researchers endeavouring to unlock nature’s enigmas.

Despite these challenges, a study conducted by the researchers from Greenland and Denmark has successfully identified a new breed of the ringed seal living near the Icefjord in West Greenland's Ilulissat area. This area is a unique natural heritage site listed under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The findings of this study have been recently published in the esteemed scientific journal Molecular Ecology.

Image credit goes to Pinngortitaleriffik – Greenland Nature Institute for demonstrating the distinctive pattern and colour differences between the Kangia ringed seal and the ordinary Arctic ringed seal. The Kangia ringed seal, as shown in the photo, is larger and has a more distinctive fur colour.

The research, which spanned over several years, involved local hunters and researchers capturing seals using nets and attaching small satellite transmitters on their backs. These transmitters relayed the seals’ geographic locations whenever they surfaced for air.

Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, a senior researcher at Pinngortitaleriffik – the Greenland Institute of Nature, and one of the researchers working on the project explains: “We observed that the Kangia seals mainly reside inside the Icefjord. From an aeroplane, we counted the seals to estimate a population of only roughly 3,000 of these unique Kangia ringed seals.'

The fact that there is a small resident population is noticeable because the ordinary Arctic ringed seal regularly travels thousands of kilometers around the Arctic to find food and has a significantly large population.

Tissue samples were also taken from the trapped seals for genetic analysis. The results displayed significant genetic disparities between the Kangia ringed and the regular Arctic seals.

Depicting Kangia ringed seal's natural habitat, the Ilulissat Icefjord, is pictured. This site is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List owing to its extraordinary and unique natural beauty.

Nevertheless, there is little understanding as to how and why the Kangia ringed seal was isolated from the other Arctic ringed seals and how it attained its new distinctive biological characteristics.

According to the study, there are still various unknowns about the range of Arctic life forms and their ability to adapt to changes in climate and human activities.

“There are several other fjords in the Arctic which have not yet been analysed in detail. It is possible that ringed seals in these locations have also developed new local genetic variations,” states Rune Dietz, Professor at the Department of Ecoscience at Aarhus University, another collaborator on the study.

Credit to the referenced study: “An evolutionarily distinct ringed seal in the Ilulissat Icefjord” authored by various researchers. It was published in Molecular Ecology on 19th October 2023.