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this rentry is dedicated to my favorite seals and some facts about them. i hope you enjoy!
my favorite species of seals are baikal seals. you can view their wikipedia article here. their most defining characteristics are their solid-colored coats and large eyes.

baikal seals only naturally live in lake baikal in russia. however, they are in various aquariums around the world, most famously niko the seal in japan. i will elaborate on him later.
lake baikal is one of the deepest lakes in the world, stretching down for miles upon miles. down under the ice, so far below from the surface, it gets dark. baikal seals needed bigger eyes to navigate the pitch black to hunt fish.
another fun fact i enjoy is that baikal seals actually descended from ringed seals! if you know anything about ringed seals, you might know that the males' faces get wrinkly as they reach maturity. since baikal seals are related to them, the males' faces can also wrinkle up!

if you look closely, there are subtle wrinkles in his face. although usually not as prominent as ringed seals, it's still very cute.
as i mentioned before, niko is a baikal seal that lives in toba aquarium in japan. he was born in 2020 prematurely, and he has a facial deformity. his eyes are noticeably smaller than other baikal seals'. he was named niko, meaning smile, to encourage hope during the global pandemic. he is most famous for this gif, where he appears to be crying.

niko is described as a "spoiled child" by his caretakers. he was separated from his mother at birth, as his mother could not properly produce milk to feed him. due to this, he attached onto other female seals at the aquarium, and is quite close with one named natasha.
he had a strange fixation on drains and pipes as a baby. he also had a characteristic blue ball that he was always seen with. nowadays, he usually plays with a soccer ball.

this rentry is still a wip!! i will be adding more as time goes on.