How did a seal get to a lake in the middle of Siberia

Lake Baikal is a geologic phenomenon. It is the deepest and oldest lake in the and has a very unique ecosystem with many species of animals not being found in any other bodies of water around the world. However, arguably the most interesting thing about this lake is that it has its own population of seals living in the lake despite the lake sitting in the middle of Siberia. So how did these seals get here?
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Sources:
bmcecolevol.biomedcentral.com...
web.corral.tacc.utexas.edu/UAF...
www.researchgate.net/publicat...
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...

[@ninjaassassin27]

The real question is who placed Siberia around a lake full of seals?

[@MrBargill]

Lol yes

[@blingbwoy]

hahaha

[@Hallo1248574]

By far the bigger mystery! ;)

[@christiankalinkina239]

God

[@p1ushyy522]

@@christiankalinkina239 the flying spaghetti monster

[@ikebeckman1074]

I love the idea of a caravan of ancient seals using their little undulating hops to migrate

[@chancegivens9390]

Same here!!

[@puffleoftypos]

*shooting stars starts playing*

[@jan_Masewin]

flomp flomp floompf flomp flomp

[@rickwrites2612]

most adorable migration ever

[@Micamicamico]

Undulating hops

[@jscire__872]

There’s also a rare sub species of fresh water seals living in a single lake in Finland called Saimaa Ringed-Seal, Pusa hispida saimensis (named for the comparably small lake Saimaa where they live). They’ve been under protection via WWF for a long while but local fishermen still dislike them and cause their young to die in fishing nets. Also warmer and warmer winters make nest building impossible for them. Their population is continually very small. It’s so important to spread awareness about these animals

[@wolffrags9856]

glory to saimaannorppa!

[@hugorissling8464]

Long live saimaannorpat

[@ravioli_826]

Wow pro wrestlers from the 80’s are protecting seals now

[@peterszeug308]

Come on, the Baltic Sea is not really that far from this lake. They deserve their attention of course, but the distance to salt water is in no way comparable, comrade :D

[@johannweber5185]

Yes, and there are (closely related) Ringed-Seals in Lake Lagoda, also close to the Baltic sea, so clearly less confusing than the Baikal Seal.

[@Archie_Haddock]

The saimaa ringed seal in Finland is another seal that lives in fresh water. It got trapped as the Baltic receded after the latest ice age, the same with the Ladoga seal, living slightly to the east.

[@aleksisuuronen5969]

Yeah It's so embedded in our finn culture that just today I saw in a store mugs where is artistic impression of the seal and the gains of the money got go to keep them thriving. It's actually quite cool mug, have to get one, they are sold pretty much everywhere you go right now.

[@anttikarttunen1126]

See also the Wikipedia-article "Freshwater_seal". There are also small colonies of harbour seals in a few lakes of Canada and Alaska. BTW, Finnish "norppa" and Russian "нерпа" are related, both probably borrowed from Saami language(s).

[@purgatorygoblin]

Poor creatures are sealed in :(

[@papakarrbear3767]

Yep it’s also sad how it’s bal-calgoten in time

[@jasonwright6823]

I wonder what they think of Brexit?

[@erichtomanek4739]

It's not so bad since they can listen to: Kiss from a Rose, by their favourite musician.

[@edgarallenpoe8457]

@@papakarrbear3767 I don't get it

[@papakarrbear3767]

@@edgarallenpoe8457 i guess that pun went ovblast your head

[@nicks1451]

Had literally no idea there were landlocked seals, let alone freshwater ones so far from the ocean. God bless this fascinating channel.

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

God bless the world for having such fascinating ecosystems

[@kellydalstok8900]

Which god, and can you prove it exists?

[@uhohhotdog]

Flying Spaghetti Monster bless

[@MrAaaaazzzzz00009999]

@@kellydalstok8900 one true God Allah, proven by the beauty of creation.

[@vancebacri5894]

Who?

[@axmajpayne]

The whole "came from the Arctic Ocean" theory makes a lot more sense when you realize that Lake Baikal drains into the Yenisey river system which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Siberia doesn't seem to have had near the level of glaciation that North America and Europe had during the last ice age, so It's very likely that the drainage from the lake was able to find it's way to the ocean for most of that period.

[@melodi996]

Plus seals now are actually often found up on the river, so they're not really bound to the lake.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

☑️ I can personally verify the theory that they got there through an enormous inland sea that covered much of Europe and Russia 6 million years ago. I know, because my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great(x 10,000) grandfather was an early hominid who had a job in that area 6 million years ago, working as a hunter-gatherer. He passed down the story of the giant inland sea through tens of thousands of generations of my family's history. He was paid just over minimum wage, which back then was 1¢ per lifetime. Adjusted for inflation, that equals $17/hr in 2023 dollars.

[@douglasbubbletrousers4763]

It was the Oregon Trail for Seals. Rumors of water in the West led to many seal families packing up their belongings and slinking across the Siberian Tundra in search of better opportunities.

[@derekknight9789]

NORAD REGION - negative affect results/ SKINWALKER RANCH. That is treacherous to face that shit in an a Apocalyptic Dimension like STAR WARS. We are in a MATRIX/HOLODECK though and maybe that is just a way to dress up the darkness. Of course there is no RAD and we are in a MATRIX. Such suffer.

[@derekknight9789]

The USA Rockies look like they went through a Nuclear War tens of thousands of years ago. If you look at the Toppgraphy it's waaay different there compared to Canada and Mexico up the Mountain Range. Gotta keep focused on healing and developing. Destruction is for JABRONIS.

[@spencer8860]

@@derekknight9789 u okay?

[@ProfezorSnayp]

You can appreciate how deep this lake really is when you consider it is filled with some 7000 meters of sediment.

[@NotFlappy12]

What is that even supposed to mean?

[@Greatanotherchannel]

Wow so its 7km of sediment on top of depth

[@artembolshakov3901]

@@NotFlappy12 lakes die because sediment - decayed organic matter, and silt brought in from rivers - accumulates at the bottom, making them less shallow over time, until water no longer accumulates there and they dry up. Baikal has 7000 meters of sediment ... and still has 4000 of actual depth left to fill. It's ancient and giant. I'm not certain it was ever 11000 meters deep - as the sediment fills, the rift is also opening, giving it more time - but it's still an impressive comparison.

[@mr.dragoncrypto4138]

@@artembolshakov3901 Wonderful explanation 👏

[@carlosandleon]

@@artembolshakov3901 imagine the fossils

[@boarbot7829]

I love lake Baikal so much. It is important to mention that it is by far and away the largest lake by water volume, and contains a whopping 20% of the worlds unfrozen fresh water.

[@domsjuk]

Among all those crazy fascinating peculiarities about the lake, this is the one which I always found most staggering.

[@charlesthebald3671]

Roughly the same amount as all the Great Lakes combined.

[@eg-draw]

China trying to build the factory on that lake. Nothing could stop Asians

[@colatf2]

@@eg-draw isn’t it fairly isolated and entirely inside Russia tho?

[@SnorryHobo]

@@eg-draw post source?

[@rl9217]

“How did a seal get to the middle of Siberia?” The ancestors of the Siberia’s seals preparing to bounce across a massive landmass: “This is one small bounce for seal, one giant bounce for sea dog’s everywhere” (Proceeds to shuffle intensely across Russia)

[@JH-lo9ut]

Much of the lowland area in northern Siberia was flooded after the last ice age, indeed there is a huge meltwater flood each spring that put huge areas of land under water, before the sea ice melts an all that water can drain out in the Arctic sea. After the ice age, there could have been a period where there was so much meltwater that it opened up a way from the sea to lake Baikal. Question is why seals would migrate through this, there wouldn't have been much fish in this water, since it was just melted snow and ice and old rotting Mammoth carcasses.

[@ginolorenzo4117]

"How did seal get into a lake in Siberia?" Obviously the same way Godzilla pops up everywhere

[@MDondy]

It met the spawn criteria and spawned there. I'm sure all they need is a water block.

[@Arterexius]

Given the amount of chunks it spans, it'll need more than a single water block. You could try, although I suspect you'll just end up with a squid game

[@data4385]

They only spawn there because they also need vodka

[@shausen1179]

You will need to hunt for the correct seed to get the spawn conditions of one water block. It is possible tho.

[@visual7150]

Wait are you saying there are seals in Minecraft now???

[@arlynnecumberbatch1056]

this needs more likes XD

[@b.a.erlebacher1139]

There are thermal vents or hot springs in Lake Tanganyika, another old deep lake in a rift valley with a lot of endemic species.

[@jessehunter362]

it’s the second deepest lake in the world, too.

[@blaireyoung6842]

thank you for this, i have learned of Gustave

[@thesilentone4024]

What about life in underground reservoirs hmm. I would love to see that kind no not cave ones I mean the ones we pump water out of. Thoughts on this being a video for him to do?.

[@dean5047]

Tanganyika is Kenya right?

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

@@dean5047 no, Lake Tanganyika borders Tanzania, Congo, Burundi, and Zambia.

[@darko714]

The answer seems to suggest itself: The Caspian seals were trapped by receding sea levels and the Baikal seals migrated as glaciers retreated.

[@lifdohop]

In Finland we have a freshwater seal too. The Saimaa ringed seal is the name of the species...well subspecies. Some ringed seals got trapped in a lake during the last ice age.

[@echofoxtrot2.051]

Nah, they weren't trapped. They opportunized on prime inland territory. Smart.

[@ltlbuddha]

Frogs often spread by their eggs being stuck to bird feet in one body of water and then falling off in another. I think it is obvious that this is how these seals got to Lake Baikal

[@olliefoxx7165]

Lol. Good one

[@Tellysayhi]

I'm picturing a baby seal clinging to a duck

[@calebvanderwolf1777]

That idea gets my "seal" of approval. But the truth is less romantic, the trans Siberian railway runs close by, they just took the train!!!

[@TyinAlaska]

I tied my babies to trucks at truck stops. I figure if they make it they'll be strong and it spreads my seed.

[@UDumFck]

Yes, but on a European or African swallow?

[@onlyfacts4999]

Lake Baikal is literally referred to as the North Sea by ancient China for its similarities to the ocean.

[@kokujin5446]

Oh fr

[@sunclonkt7839]

And the word "Baikal" literally means "nature" in Mongolian.

[@mareksicinski3726]

baikal sea is an outdated term for it too

[@sargafekete_7512]

Ancient Mongolia and Ugria, yeah

[@MichaelK_]

@@mareksicinski3726 no it isn't? I live in Irkutsk, the city closest to Baikal and we still call it море Байкал, meaning Baikal sea

[@RuSosan]

*Seal:* "How did I get here? Cyka, I waddled!"

[@engel7461]

Finally the first content creator I found that actually has their sources, I congratulate you.

[@andreymenumerov8583]

The Saimaa and Ladoga nerpas also are freshwater seals.

[@suvi7641]

they are subspecies of the ringed seal though

[@kokujin5446]

@@suvi7641 fr?

[@hailgiratinathetruegod7564]

They are still only subspecies of the ringed seal

[@mladenmatosevic4591]

It wasn't enough time to diversify from last Ice Age.

[@LeaHyvonen]

Even if they are only subspecies, they're still freshwater seals

[@mangogo44]

Being born in Russia I visited Baikal 2 in my life. Super pretty, clear cold water. Buryatia Republic region is very beautiful and rich in local culture (influenced by neighbouring Mongolia) and unique animals.

[@user-kg7zr3yl3n]

did you swim in it

[@AntediluvianRomance]

@@user-kg7zr3yl3n It is quite cold, even in summer.

[@data4385]

@@user-kg7zr3yl3n it can be warm on the surface but it's very rare

[@VargVikernes1488]

Personally, I am waiting for Baikal 3 to come out before visiting.

[@data4385]

@@VargVikernes1488 damn xD

[@dancummane3668]

That was fantastic! Really enjoyed the “Deep Dive” into Lake Bikal

[@ChrisVillagomez]

I've always been fascinated by the wildlife of Lake Baikal, especially at the bottom, we've only seen a small amount of the crustaceans from the bottom and they look like literal alien lifeforms. I've tried searching online but there's nothing that I could find besides the orange amphipod that everyone has seen and this video of course

[@mbian0same762]

HERE IS HOW: throw a stick 1600mils away, and at least one good boy sea doggo will chase all the way there.

[@TheHonestTruth]

Lol

[@kevley26]

Lmao those smooth sea puppers

[@callummunro5400]

Need at least two for a population though.

[@LichaRozeleOfficial]

Hahahahahaa, soooo funnny 😂

[@LichaRozeleOfficial]

@@callummunro5400 Someone threw stick and the female sea doggo chased it, the male sea doggo followed 😈

[@MrChillerNo1]

O just imagine some Sibirian nomads playing a joke, by bringing seals from the Arctic sea to Lake Baikal just to mess, with their neighbors... "Say, Kashnyk, have you ever seen seals at this lake?" "No, never Nestu." "I bet you my reindeer herd against yours, that there are some... " "You never gonna find one, because there are none, I accept" "hehehe..."

[@mareksicinski3726]

arctic ocean you mena? the north sea is the one between germany, scandinavia and britain

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@mareksicinski3726 😅 yeah, you are right. Much more awkward, since I new that, and have been to the North sea many times... thanks for pointing out.

[@mattiasdahlstrom2024]

There is evidence fish was planted into lakes in the Scandinavian mountains

[@MrChillerNo1]

@@mattiasdahlstrom2024 true, same for some alpine lakes. But that makes sense for hunter and gatherers, and would be fairly easy to do with roe or small fish. With seals I don't see that... way to complicated over that distance.

[@rickwrites2612]

@@MrChillerNo1 you'd only need a few, but yea, seems unlikely

[@RealitysVoice]

Good vid, but... *Saimaa Seal* and the *Ladoga Seal* may have something to say about it being the "only freshwater seal in the world". *Lake Tanganyika* may have something to say about being the "only lake with thermal vents in the world".

[@kognak6640]

He said freshwater species of seal. Ringed seal is not freshwater species. Saimaa and Ladoga ones are Ringed seals, trapped around 10 000 years ago at end of Ice Age. It's way too short time for speciation, they are merely subspecies.

[@PeiceofNick]

Dont forget the Michigan Snow Lake Seal.

[@AM22Salabok]

Woah this lake is so fascinating, and I never even knew it existed. Thanks for sharing!

[@dr.polaris6423]

Fascinating topic! I had no idea that lake Baikal was both so deep and so ancient.

[@chancegivens9390]

Wasup man! You been alright?.

[@johngavin1175]

I throughly enjoy both of your channels. Maybe a collab one day?

[@chancegivens9390]

@@johngavin1175 I'm assuming you're not referring to my channel.

[@johngavin1175]

@@chancegivens9390 Eh? No but if you did get to collab with Polaris or Moth,it would be cool would it not?

[@chancegivens9390]

@@johngavin1175 my content is a bit different but yeah that would be cool!

[@rl9217]

Editor is one of the most fascinating subjects when it comes to learning natural history, beautifully done video on this topic.

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

It's a placeholder name. It will be changed.

[@feargripper]

@@bunkfoss50yearsago53 I bet you’re great at parties!

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

@@feargripper A minute ago some kid responded to my comment saying he was confused about the editor comments. Then I told him. I was just making sure people know, but you're righ. I am great at parties 😎😎😎😎😎😎

[@ThisIsThePlanet]

@@bunkfoss50yearsago53 why does he need a placeholder?

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

@@ThisIsThePlanet It's hard to explain.

[@apfelstrudeldk5130]

seeing you uploaded a video always makes my day better. thank you for posting great educational calming content

[@Indianny]

Man, this is incredibly informative, well put together, and we'll researched. I'm kinda bummed It took me so long to find this channel. Amazing work

[@QuantumPlaysOfficial]

Imagine how weird it would be if there were seals in the great lakes

[@garethbaus5471]

That almost makes me want to introduce a few.

[@charlesthebald3671]

Lake Baikal holds as much water as the Great Lakes combined.

[@rexmann1984]

Vodka and a pick up truck. Often the simplest answer is the most likely.

[@SR-lm1jx]

After all, taxonomy is governed by the principle of parsimony

[@juhovuolinko6446]

This is interesting, but to us Finns also somewhat familiar - after all, one of our most prized and famous animals is the Saimaa ringed seal, a subspecies of the RS isolated in the Saimaa lake. Go check those ones out too!

[@justin8894]

Huckleberry Finns?

[@peakingmantis5331]

These are the kind of videos I watch intensely for no reason, as if it's going to help my life in any way shape or form. Why am I like this

[@patchthesinclair5896]

The most interesting body of water known to me, it is one of my greatest regrets that I shall probably never see it. Thank you for this experience.

[@TrolliNaattori]

There is also a fresh water species of seal in the lake Saimaa. It's endangered.

[@medicfdumbo]

Wow they are pretty

[@danieljohnson3085]

There are also seals in Lake Iliamna in Alaska. Not sure if they are technically their own species or not.

[@_Wombat]

Just want to say I appreciate the top quality diagrams and info graphics in your videos. The only one I struggled with was the two shades of brown for the geological shift diagram. Great topic though, thanks!

[@syncmonism]

I suddenly want to know a lot more about this giant lake. I find it so interesting that it is like a piece of the ocean which got separated only relatively recently.

[@tuckerricklefs4830]

This lake must be the most fascinating place on Earth that I had never heard of. Good video!

[@p00bix]

Lake Baikal is one of the most amazing environments on the planet, you really should do some reading/viewing on it! Really hope that at some point I'll be able to visit myself. It's by far the world's deepest lake, and is the largest lake by total volume (though only the 7th largest by surface area). Baikal thus represents the largest freshwater habitat in the world. And unlike other giant bodies of water like the Black Sea, it isn't oxygen-stratified! There's still tons of oxygen on the sea floor, further increasing the biodiversity. Thousands of both plant and animal species are exclusively found in Baikal, and these endemic creatures greatly outnumber other species with wider range. Perhaps most notably, it is host to by far the world's largest array of unique freshwater crustaceans-notably including giant members of usually tiny species. A few species of amphipods and ostracods, groups of crustaceans which are typically so small that they're almost microscopic, can reach sizes of more than 3 centimeters in length. It also has an interesting dynamic in which sculpins, a fairly unimportant group of fish which live as 4-6 inch long ambush predators, have diversified into a number of unusual forms, while several other niches normally held by small fish in other bodies of water are instead occupied by invertebrates.

[@jameskazd9951]

Lake Baikal is one of my favorite things to learn about, such an interesting body of water with very interesting biodiversity. i would really like to learn more about the deep water creatures that liv there

[@olliefoxx7165]

I've never seen anything about this incredible place. It's fascinating! Not only did I learn there are landlocked freshwater seals there's also a 25 MILLION year old lake in Siberia. So cool.

[@valentinh4125]

There are actually fresh water seals in finland - called the Saimaa ringed seal, so these are not the only fresh water seals in the world

[@NannupTiger]

What an incredible show, thankyou 😊

[@erichtomanek4739]

There's no mystery what so ever of how the Nerpa seal arrived at Lake Baikal. The Trans Siberian Express.

[@rikulappi9664]

There are freshwater seals in Lake Ladoga (Russia) and Lake Saimaa (Finland) too.

[@HeapOfBones]

Yeah, Moth Light is bout to be "enthusiastically educated" by dedicated Finnish saimaannorppa fans.

[@jika327]

It appears that both of those are classified as subspecies of the Ringed seal instead of their own species.

[@HeapOfBones]

@@jika327 oh do not fret, the norppa fans know this :D

[@KateeAngel]

I have never known there are any seals in Ladoga, although it is unlikely I would have seen them anyway, since I haven't been on that lake often. I have seen seals only on White Sea

[@sergeantquackers7815]

@@HeapOfBones then why would they comment anything? moth light said only species of freshwater seal and he was right

[@cmbaileytstc]

Stalin said “Seal, go to gulag’”

[@anime_is_trash]

haha stalin gulag fanee

[@gongobongo8197]

@@anime_is_trash and indeed it was the funny

[@pwixell7113]

@@anime_is_trash KEKW 😂😂

[@Zombied77]

I grew up on the shore of Lake Erie so I really appreciate this. What a cool lake.

[@sofiasvoid]

Didn't know ur editor was a seal man

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

It's a placeholder name. It will be changed.

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

And same.

[@Absinthis]

What's all that stuff about "editor"? I don't understand

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

@@Absinthis You're late. The title of the video was a placeholder when it first released. It remained "Editor" for a few minutes, then it was corrected.

[@marysue9661]

Haha, caught you on the editorial title

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

Same

[@ryans4877]

I was hoping we’d get the big reveal that these videos have all been edited by a seal 😔

[@bingolingo6555]

Me too

[@gomes6422]

I thought it was a recorded voice call with the editor and the seal picture was his pfp.

[@paulwang2055]

This video made me so happy. Thanks!

[@richardaitkenhead]

Amazing content, better than national television.

[@angryyoungman66]

A future human time traveler went back thousands of years kidnapped some of the seals from the ocean coast took them to the lake in Siberea and released them there and they evolved sepratly .

[@scottturcotte1860]

Like a Star Trek movie with whales...

[@johnhoelzeman6683]

"So there is plenty of room" Proceeds to show a picture of a posing, quite large seal

[@mrwaxwave]

This channel is so fantastic I just love it so much

[@Chokwik]

good vid! as someone in the comments mentioned about seals traveling in rivers, that might be how they got to Baikal.. possibly there was more of lakes and rivers in past time so it wouldn't have been such a stretch either.. One thing i have to mention, about fresh water seals, mayybe you could've mentioned how other fresh water seals are different and excluded from this topic, making Baikal seals unique.. btw, felt qute to hear they're called Nerpa, as we finns call ours Norppa. :) rarely we hear shared words

[@ManicMercurianAstrology]

YES HE UPLOADED AGAIN I LIVE FOR THESE

[@ArtisticlyAlexis]

You always come up with the most fascinating subjects!

[@str00p22]

This was so interesting! Thank you for sharing

[@ttrestle]

Literally one of the most fascinating videos I’ve ever heard on KZbin.

[@mrseal5654]

Thanks for telling our story mate, my friend is in the thumbnail pretty cool.

[@ddewaard3265]

Awesome video once again. I love your intro by the way, it's so peaceful and nice, please don't change that! I usually skip the intro's of video's but not yours.

[@Jacksirrom]

What a precious, delicate place. Beautiful.

[@glenngilbert7389]

Fascinating coverage of a species I've been interested in for quite some time

[@Saikool64]

It seems the "Editor" forgot to title the video

[@kantomega]

0:51 It isn't the only fresh water seal. There's another one in Lake Saimaa in Finland--the Saimaannorppa

[@ok1025]

its a subspecies of the ringed seal tho

[@Honne1064]

@@ok1025 it's still a freshwater seal

[@The_Deztro]

I'm actually so glad this was on my recommend, got bless the algorithm

[@houseguest4534]

This was a great video very intuitive you really did a great job teaching us about this awesome yet fascinating lake and some of its inhabitants subbed and liked keep the great content coming 😁

[@trabantfreak2370]

I love editors they are such fascinating creatures hahaha 🤣🐡

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

It's a placeholder name. It will be changed.

[@trabantfreak2370]

@@bunkfoss50yearsago53 I know but my comment was a bad joke.

[@bunkfoss50yearsago53]

@@trabantfreak2370 It was funny.

[@trabantfreak2370]

@@bunkfoss50yearsago53 ok thx.

[@gangstaelegantproductions2780]

Glad i found your channel

[@banzaii4422]

Love these kinds of videos. Amazing

[@casualearth9076]

Great work! I recently discussed the same exact thing on my channel a month ago. I'm glad you're guiding more curious minds to these fascinating animals and the exciting world of biogeography.

[@Spongebrain97]

I read somewhere before that due to how deep the lake is and how surprisingly old it is, some people think that in the past more of the region had bodies of water that connected to rivers which the seals swam up from the oceans but over time the rivers went away

[@drayneeru1796]

What a cute and amazing video, thank you !

[@Jolli_-is7oo]

Dude this video is sick, such an i teresting topic ive never know about, what a fascinating lake.

[@timjung640]

Very interesting and well explained! I'm gonna have to learn more about Lake Baikal and its fauna!

[@JG-zs8tr]

I love these kinds of natural mysteries. Another great video MLM!

[@nickwannn]

you know I've been up lately pondering this exact question so thank you

[@stonew1927]

Very interesting! Learned a lot. Thank you!!

[@NomicFin]

The Baikal seal is in fact not the only species of freshwater seal in the world. In Finland we have the Saimaa ringed seal, or Saimaannorppa in Finnish (OK, technically it's a subspecies of the ringed seal, but it is genetically distinct from its sea-dwelling relatives), which also lives in freshwater, in this case lake Saimaa. In this case, however, it's very easy to figure how they ended up there: after the last ice age Saimaa used to be connected to the Baltic Sea until isostatic rebound raised the land enough to cut it off, leaving a population of seal stuck in the lake.

[@classicstangs]

Did you say Finland? … yea sorry Russia won that war and declared their seal the only one in Fresh water.

[@eg-draw]

Don't you know the difference between species and SUBspecies? Lol

[@damanisouza859]

lake baikal is possibly one of the most interesting ecosystems on earth. would love to visit it someday

[@alexnorth2452]

Cool vid, I won't become a patron, but definitely earned a sub, looking forward to seeing more of your content

[@c.a.greene8395]

Where I worked for a hatchery we had multiple tidal fed lakes which seals swim into for summer fishing as the salmon will hold up in the lake all summer until the fall rains begin and then they migrate to the spawning bed where they were born. During the hot summer months some of those tidal fed streams and rivers dry up. Then everyone wants to know how the seals got there... Worse thing is IF you fish one of these lakes or rivers you had better learn to fly fish as the spin cast ( regular fishing pole ) when reeling in a fish sends out the dinner bell ( acts like a guitar string being plucked with each movement of the fish ) and you will be lucky to reel in the head of the fish...then you get to watch the seal eat our catch...took me a few months of practice to get the casts down and another 2 months to learn about line presentation but it's truly rewarding to catch fish on the fly and outsmart the seals !

[@dumbshitmule2251]

Endemic species are awesome. Lake Baikal also has three species of endemic sculpin. Here in Idaho, there is an ancient lake, Lake Pend Oreille, that has one endemic species of sculpin. Edit: endemic overuse of endemicly endemicness

[@DiscoDogPacmanFrog]

Your average use of the word "endemic" is 1.33 times per sentence.

[@ganjafi59]

You like endemic? Heard about New Zealand, Australia, Madagascar, and Socotra island?

[@dumbshitmule2251]

@@ganjafi59 yes, and the Galápagos Islands. As I said they're awesome, no matter where they are. What's super crazy is some biologists think the biosphere may go much deeper into the lithosphere than previously thought and life has been found over a kilometer down. There may be species that only reside in a space no more than a few cubic meters. If this is true there are likely many instances of this.

[@SupahTrunks7]

There is this one cave in Romania you might be interested in. It had been sealed off from the outside world for so long that it has its own endemic species

[@dumbshitmule2251]

@@SupahTrunks7 amazing. There are entomologists here in the states studying a phenomenon where insects and arachnids lose pigment and eyesight the deeper into the earth they live. Sometimes to the point the eyes are vestigial and subdermal.

[@nebulan]

Great *deep dive* into this wonderful place!

[@stillnobuddy]

You're punny!

[@ARCtheCartoonMaster]

This species of seal always fascinated me as a kid, not just because of how cute they are, but also because they're the only freshwater seals in existence, and it's so cool to hear more about the unusual environment they live in. Thank you, kind sir, for enlightening me on the subject. :)

[@JH-lo9ut]

No, there are two other species of freshwater seals in lake Ladoga (Finland-Russia) and lake Saimen (Finland). Both are subspecies of ringed seal. These are however much closer to the sea and was cut off by land rise after the last ice age.

[@Machingonjoe]

I hope you know that you’re videos are the best

[@GlAsseshalf]

Do a video on the ecosystem of this lake it’s so interesting and unique

[@RoccosVideos]

Truly fascinating.

[@meanter1402]

A very interesting video! I was born in a city that is only a couple hours away from baikal lake. It is really beautiful and look even better in person. The water is so clean you can cook with it or drink it.

[@Lortagreb]

Fantastic content

[@aeres6812]

Editor indeed

[@pnd__3246]

I put him there

[@erroleabrown4317]

Interesting question, good answers, thanks for the video

[@ninjanerdstudent6937]

Very nice documentary. I subscribed.

[@hotpotato265]

*Scientist:* How did they got there? *Ancient Drunk Russian Seal Trader:* Dude imagine there would be seals in the Baikal.

[@SolOnSol3]

Editor 👍

[@greenman6141]

They are also criminally adorable. They're feisty round little fellows, full of personality and very endearing.

[@1man1bike1road]

thanks for reminding me of past travels beautiful lake

[@milesmojave8223]

IT WAS ME. I PUT THE SEALS THERE.