How Did Seals Get to Lake Baikal?

How did seals get to Lake Baikal, over 1,000 miles from the ocean? In this video we'll discuss the evolution of the Baikal Seal and the paleogeography of Asia to evaluate one of biogeography's biggest questions.

Sources:

The enigma of the landlocked Baikal and Caspian seals addressed through phylogeny of phocine mitochondrial sequences. Jukka u. Palo and Risto Väinölä, Finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences

Thomas, J., Pastukhov, V. & Petrov, E. 1982. Phoca sibirica. Mammalian Species 188, 1-6.

A Giant Siberian Lake During the Last Glacial: Evidence and Implications.
Lioubimtseva E.U., Gorshkov S.P. & Adams J.M.

Scientific Evaluation of the Distinctiveness of Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) in Iliamna Lake. Peter L. Boveng , Shawn P. Dahle , John K. Jansen , Josh M. London , Barbara L. Taylor , and David E. Withrow

[mellon]

Imagine being that seal from Deleware, fed up with other seals, that swam all the way up the creek and crossed multiple parking lots to feast on bass and sunfish in the pond all alone just to be moved back to the ocean by "wildlife experts" in the spring :D

[arryks]

I'm going to get "not a bad deal for a humble seal" tattooed on my forehead.

[hgbugalou]

There have been Manatees spotted up and down the Mississippi river. Mammals can tolerate the differences from fresh water and salt water better than other species and I can see how being the only seal or manatee in town has it's advantages. Perhaps it just takes a few brave ones to make the trek before local colonies are established.

[boofriggityhoo]

I grew up near lots of seals and sea lions and people do indeed underestimate them. They can be surprisingly fast on land when they want to be, for example (though they're obviously faster in water), and they're very intelligent animals. Sometimes it's hard to see this because they are a lot more defensive on land and we often just see them sunbathing, but they really are just sea dogs in terms of how curious and clever they are. Long-term species survival always favors the generalists who can adapt quickly, especially as environments and climates change, and I believe seals are a great example of this.

[theConservationist]

I learned about these seals in a lake bailkal documentary on netflix. After hearing nobody is sure how they got there, I went on google earth and followed the river systems from the lake to the sea. It didn't seem like much of a mystery lol. So I'm glad to see your video with evidence of the seal climbing around the dam.

[casualearth-dandavis]

Minor clarification: According to the Paratethyan hypothesis, the Paratethys only brought seals closer to Lake Baikal indirectly, by allowing for the evolution of the Caspian seal—after which, proglacial lakes would connect Lake Baikal to the Caspian Sea, and seals would only have to make a short trip upriver. Regardless, this is no longer supported by genetic evidence. The later proglacial lake theory emphasized the proglacial lake alone, as it could’ve trapped arctic seals and forced them into both the Caspian and Baikal. But current evidence doesn’t align a proglacial lake with the genetic divergence between the Baikal Seal and other Phoca species.

[g_glop]

the Deleware seal had me wheezing, i was imagining it being like salmon - doing acrobatics to jump upstream - but no, it just goes on land and waddles around the obstacle. mammals truly are the funniest class of animal

[rj]

my theory is that early humans used seals as pillows before pillows were invented, and carried the smaller seals with them inland from the ocean to rest their heads on. this explains why baikal seals are small and chonky :3

[FakeGoogleName]

You do a great job of introducing a fascinating obscure topic and staying factual, interesting and presenting the different theories and their level of credibility.

[josoapification]

This theory is the most plausible in my opinion. Ancient rivers makes the most sense to me. A few years ago i saw an otter in a small stream beside my house. This stream runs into a river about 3 miles away. The river is where it’s food source is not in a small stream. Only frogs and tiny stickle back fish to eat there. It’s something I always thought about. how on earth did the seals get there ? Seals are strong animals. I can’t see why they wouldn’t keep going in one direction. Surveys have been done tagging blue sharks off the west coast of Ireland . These very same sharks have been re caught and re tagged in similar surveys in venezuela. It’s amazing the distance some species can travel.

[deanfirnatine]

Best explanation I have heard yet, had no idea there were once seals spotted in Lake Ontario.

[cacogenicist]

Harbor seals sometimes swim up the Columbia River into the Portland area -- into the Willamette River to WIllamette Falls, and up the Columbia to the Bonneville Dam. More problematically (for fisherman), sea lions often do the same.

Although the Columbia is such a large-volume river that a gray whale was once spotted _in Portland, _ in the Columbia.

[aedan_s]

Really great video man! Can't wait to see more from you and watch this channel grow

[Slivr]

I knew I subscribed for a reason. This channel is going to blow up, guaranteed.

[guusvanrijn]

This channels gonna grow im counting on it, leaving this comment for the algorithm

[mayibloom]

Excellent Video. I was watching a video about a cute seal in Lake Baikal. I was wondering how did it get there. Then I saw your video in the recommendations. Keep it up!

[agb]

Smart Person: *explains how seals got to Lake Baikal*
Everyone else: haha sea potato

[EdwardHamiltonDavis]

Excellent work. Many teachers could be using this video to get students interested in several subject areas: earth science, geography, ecology, animal behavior

[oliverwilson]

Love these little guys, they're fascinating.

I'm ashamed to say I still believed in the Paratethys hypothesis. I'm glad to have had my knowledge updated.

[curious]

My love of seals brought me here, and your channel seems awesome!