每日英语听力

当前播放

E1-03-The Frozen Sea 北冰洋

As the hours of sunlight continue to lengthen across the Arctic Circle, seals are holing out onto the icecap to give birth. It's the pupping season.

Harp seal pups are born covered in white woolly fur. This helps insulate them until they built up enough blubber to keep warm and it's a perfect camouflage against the snow.

Seals are the main source of food for polar bears and whilst on the ice, the pups are very vulnerable.

The seals wean their pups within just two weeks, so they can take to the sea as quickly as possible.

Their mother's milk is extremely rich, nearly half fat, so pups grow very quickly, gaining over two kilograms of weight each day.

Of all the seals that live in Arctic, the hooded seal spends the shortest time out on the ice. After just four days, this pup will be weaned and ready to escape to the ocean.

This is the shortest weaning period than any mammal on earth.

The adult seals will mate soon after the female gives birth. So the males wait near by, biding their time.

Male hooded seals have a unique way of intimidating their rivals when competing for territory and females.

The scarlet balloon is an elastic membrane blown out of one nostril.

下载全新《每日英语听力》客户端,查看完整内容
点击播放