Nattiq • Ringed Seal

Natural History

Ringed seal are a smallish species of seal that live in the arctic and grow to about 1.5m (5’) long. They are able to survive where other seals cannot because they claw open holes in ice floes and pack ice in order to breath. From these breathing holes they dive to depths of 45 meters in search of arctic cod and shrimp. It is at these breathing holes that their predators, humans and polar bears, wait patently for them.

Inuit Knowledge

Hunted all year round, seal are an important part of the arctic ecosystem and Inuit diet. Traditionally, as seen in our film People of a Feather, sealskin is used for everything from pants to buckets, rope, harnesses, whips, pouches and kayaqs. The thick layer of fat that keeps them alive in the cold arctic waters was also used by Inuit as fuel for their qulliq (seal fat lamp).