This name refers to the coarse pelage of adult ringed seals. Ringed seal pups are born with a white, woolly lanugo coat which begins shedding at 2 to 3 weeks of age and is completely lost by 6 to 8 weeks of age. It is replaced by an unspotted coat that is silver on the belly and dark gray on the back. The background color of adult coats is generally the same but gray or whitish rings appear on the back and sides. Their muzzle is short and their face resembles that of a cat.
Males are generally larger than females.
Ringed seals give birth in March or April and nurse for about 5 to 7 weeks. Ringed seals feed on a variety of organisms including various types of plankton, euphausiid crustaceans, squid, sculpins, shrimp, and cod. The average life-span of ringed seals is approximately 40 years. Predators of ringed seals include polar bears, arctic foxes, walruses, and humans. It is very important to remember that seals are wild animals and can be very aggressive.