Imagine spending hours shoveling snow at -20°C, with the freezing wind whipping at your face. This is the challenge that hundreds of volunteers in Finland face every winter, united by a common goal: save the ringed seal of Saimaa.
These animals, once widespread throughout the country, today there are less than 500 of them and they live in the waters of Lake Saimaain south-eastern Finland. They feed mainly on crustaceans and fish, they can live up to 45 years and reach 100 kg in weight and 160 centimeters in length.
Their survival is closely linked to the presence of snowdrifts, essential for the construction of the dens where the females give birth and raise their puppies (they give birth to one a year). The “snow caves”, as they are called, offer shelter from predators, such as red foxes and bears, and from bad weather, guaranteeing the safety of the little ones: these special houses guarantee a temperature of 0-2 °C, very different from even at -27 °C outside.
But global warming is changing the game. The milder winters and the scarcity of snow put the reproduction of seals at riskwith dramatic consequences for the survival of the species. This is why, since 2014, a group of volunteers has been mobilizing to build artificial snowdrifts, real “little houses” that offer seals a safe refuge.
“It’s like a kind of cave,” he explained to the Guardian Vincent Biarddoctoral student and volunteer atUniversity of Eastern Finland. “Seals come out from under the ice, through the breathing holes they dig, and sneak into snowdrifts to create a den where they can give birth and raise their young“.
The work of volunteers is demanding. They meet at the first light of dawn and work until sunset, moving on foot or on skis, dragging the equipment for kilometers. Each artificial snowdrift requires hours of work and must be carefully constructed, reaching considerable dimensions: approximately 7 meters long and 1.5 meters high. But the effort is rewarded by the awareness of contributing to the protection of an endangered species. “If we didn’t do this, they would become extinct very quickly,” comments Biard.
The results of this hard work are encouraging. Since the project began, over 300 cubs were born in artificial snowdrifts. “We are on an upward growth curve,” he says Jari Ilmonencoordinator of Our Saimaa Seal Lifean EU-funded programme.
But, as anticipated, the threat of climate change looms. In the future, ice cover is expected to disappear before the end of the calving season, making it impossible to build snow drifts. For this, scientists at the University of Eastern Finland are working on a plan B: the creation of artificial denssimilar to a bird nest box, which can offer an alternative to snow caves.
“The long-term perspective is that we don’t know if the snowdrifts will be enough,” admits Biard. “So the team is developing artificial nest boxes.”
The artificial dens are already present on the lake and they hosted the birth of some puppies. But the road is still long. “We’re talking about about 500 seals and about 100 pups born every year, you understand that we need a lot of boxes,” explains Ilmonen.
