Ocean Life: Mammals -Migration & Distribution

Marine mammals are widely distributed throughout the ocean. Some migrate and inhabit many different waters while others confine themselves to one small area. Migration is a regular journey between one region and another, usually associated with seasonal changes or breeding and feeding cycles.

Polar bears are found throughout the Arctic and the majority of them are found near land masses at the edge of the polar basin. Polar bears travel over the whole year within individual home ranges. Home range size depends on access to food, mates and dens. They also prefer to travel on sea ice; therefore, their ranges are limited by the amount of sea ice that forms in the winter.

Sea otters are found along the Pacific Coast of the United States, Canada and Alaska.

Pinnipeds and cetaceans make long-distance seasonal migrations to rookeries (breeding grounds) or warm-water birthing grounds. Reproduction and migration are often timed with seasonal changes in the availability of food for the adults and young. Many arctic pinnipeds migrate with the movement of food, but also with the seasonal movement of the ice pack.

All living sirenians are found in warm tropical and subtropical waters. They migrate into warmer waters during the colder months of the year when the water temperature drops below about 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Manatees are found in the warm waters of the West Indies, Florida peninsula and the Amazon Basin. Dugongs are found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans, northern Australia and the Persian Gulf.