Editing Baikal seal (section)

{{Short description|Species of freshwater seal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Baikal seal
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Goodman, S. |date=2016 |title=''Pusa sibirica'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T41676A45231738 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41676A45231738.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> 
| image = Nerpa (Pusa sibirica) (3635255975).jpg
| genus = Pusa
| species = sibirica
| authority = [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]], 1788
| range_map = Baikal Seal area.png
| range_map_caption = Baikal seal range
| synonyms =''Phoca sibirica''
}}
The '''Baikal seal''' ('''''Pusa sibirica'''''), [[Common name|also known]] as '''Lake Baikal seal''' or '''Baikal nerpa''' ({{Lang|ru|[[wikt:нерпа|нерпа]]|italic=yes}}), is a species of [[earless seal]] [[endemic]] to [[Lake Baikal]] in [[Siberia]], Russia. The Baikal seal is one of the smallest earless/true seals, and the only exclusively [[freshwater pinniped]] species.<ref name="MMOTW">{{cite book |first=Randall R. |last=Reeves |first2=Brent S. |last2=Stewart |first3=Phillip J. |last3=Clapham |first4=James A. |last4=Powell |title=National Audubon Society Guide to the Marine Mammals of the World |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |year=2002 |isbn=0-375-41141-0 }}</ref> The related [[Caspian seal]] inhabits another large, inland body of water, the [[Caspian Sea]]. Both species are closely related to the [[ringed seal]], which inhabits the [[Arctic Ocean]]. 

A subpopulation of inland [[harbour seal]]s living in the [[Hudson Bay]] region of Quebec, Canada (the [[Lacs des Loups Marins]] harbour seals), as well as the [[Saimaa ringed seal]] and the [[Ladoga seal]] (both ringed seal subspecies), are also found in fresh water, but these seals are part of species that also have marine populations, instead of being [[Biological specificity|distinct species]].<ref name="MMOTW"/> 

The most recent population estimates are 80,000 to 100,000 animals, roughly equaling the expected [[carrying capacity]] of the lake. At present, the species is not considered threatened.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />