For years, the unique Saimaa ringed seals living in the hills and mountains of southeastern Finland had been disappearing. At one point, fewer than 200 existed. Many had fallen victim to commercial fishing nets or humans hunting them. But another threat now looms over the fur-coated animals: climate change . The seals largely birth their babies during the winter in massive snow drifts. They dig caves into the drifts for protection from harsh weather and predators like red foxes. But a warming climate has melted those snow drifts early and made them unsafe. The lack of shelter has killed some of the young seals and their parents. Others have been left homeless. Since 2014, a group of roughly 300 volunteers has braved single-digit Fahrenheit temperatures to build new drifts. The volunteers also shovel out pathways in the drifts for the seals. “It’s kind of a snow cave,” Vincent Biard explained to The Guardian. He's a PhD student and volunteer from the University of Eastern Finland. “The seals come from under and dig into the snow drifts to create a cave where they can give birth and raise their young.” The Saimaa seals were once common around Finland’s Lake Saimaa. Thousands lived in the area. Thanks to conservation efforts, the seal numbers are back above 500. “We are on a rising growth curve, so things still look pretty nice,” Jari Ilmonen told The Guardian. He's coordinator of Our Saimaa Life. It's a European-funded program that works to save the seals. “We are doing what we can, so we have to have hope and positive thoughts.” Reflect: If you could help save an animal, what would you do and why? Photo of Saimaa ringed seal from Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Linda Lötjönen.
