Some Aspects of Growth and Reproduction of the Bearded Seal, Erignathus barbatus (Erxleben)

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Abstract
This preliminary study is based on material from 113 specimens from the eastern Canadian Arctic. Animals may be aged from the claws up to 9 to 16 years. The male matures at 7 and the female at 6 years. The pup is produced around May 1 and the males are probably in full rut in mid-May. Females which have produced a pup forego ovulation until after the male rut, thus establishing a two-year cycle of pup production. The embryo implants during a 11/2-month period around early August, after 21/2 months of delay in development. The animal grows from 120 cm. in nose–tail length at birth to about 235 cm. The female increases her length by about 33% in the first year and reaches about 91% of her final length at puberty, at 6 years; these figures are somewhat larger than expected from the growth patterns of other Pinnipedia.

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