“[A baby bearded seal rests on an ice floe.] Soon after birth, bearded seal pups spend half their time romping and diving in near-freezing water, so they need energy to burn with some left over to store as fat. Mothers provide most of the fuel during a nursing period from 16 to 24 days, with pups feeding about every three hours day and night.”
(Text from and photograph shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Bearded Seals: Going With the Floe," March 1997, National Geographic magazine)
