Their only protection from the elements is provided by snow drifts, ice ridges, and their mother. The nursing period lasts from 3 to 4 weeks, during which time a pup's weight more than doubles. Mating occurs about the time pups are weaned. Most adult females become pregnant every year. After weaning, pups spend a great deal of time on the ice, apparently slowly achieving proficiency at diving and feeding.
Ribbon seals eat a variety of different foods, but their main prey is fish.
Studies by Soviets and Americans have shown that in regions where walleye pollock are present they usually comprise the major single prey item. Interestingly, the centers of ribbon seal abundance usually coincide with regions where pollock are also abundant. Other important food items in the Bering Sea, depending on the region in which the seals occur, are eelpouts, capelin, Greenland halibut, pricklebacks, Arctic cod, and saffron cod. Herring and sandlance are also probably important on occasion. Little is known about the foods ingested by ribbon seals during summer to late winter.