20/11/2025
PLACENTA DIVES 3/3
In early May, I joined a team of divers from Metsähallitus retrieving Saimaa ringed seal placentas from the lake.
Baby seals are born on ice, in a snow lair. Once everything has melted, the placenta falls to the bottom of the lake. Toxicity and DNA analysis on the placenta can provide valuable information to researchers, such as seal family ties and heavy metal pollution in Lake Saimaa.
In one location, the divers found the body of a dead seal pup. They also found an extra placenta, which means twins were born there. It's a rare occurrence for Saimaa ringed seal! Hopefully the other one made it and is still happily swimming in the lake. Nothing is certain, though, because too many baby seals still die in fishing nets once the seasonal ban ends. A year-long net ban might one day be in place, but for now the idea has met too much resistance.
