Editing Ringed seal (section)

==Life history==
[[File:Pusa hispida pup.jpg|thumb|Pup of ringed seal.]]
Females reach sexual maturity at 4 years old while males do not reach maturity until 7 years old.<ref name="NOAA"/> During the spring breeding season, females construct lairs within the thick ice and give birth in these structures. Females give birth to a single pup on ice floes or shorefast ice in March or April after a 9-month gestation period. Pups are weaned after two months<ref name="NOAA"/> and build up a thick layer of [[blubber]].

Females usually begin mating in late April.<ref name="NOAA"/> Males will roam the ice for a mate. When found, the male and female may spend several days together before mating, after which the male looks for another mate.

Ringed seals live about 25 to 30 years.<ref name="NOAA"/> They are solitary animals and when hauled out on ice, they separate themselves from each other by hundreds of yards.<ref name="NOAA"/>