#Saimaannorppa

[usvakani]

Inktober Day 19: Plump

[mehilaiselokuva]

Finnish word of the day

Saimaannorppa

Saimaa (gen) + norppa

Saimaa: a place name of unknown origin. Largest lake in FInland

Norppa: Ringed seal. Probably a borrowing from Sami.

= Saimaa ringed seal Pusa hispida saimensis

The Saimaa ringed seal is an endangered seal living in the Saimaa fresh water lake. (It's very rare for a seal to live in fresh water!) There are about 440 of these little rolls left! If they die, the species will be completely lost. I'm very passionate about these seals!

Learn more about them (and maybe donate to them):

[This is Pullervo]

[This is Siiri]

[And one of my favorite pics] (from Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto)

[saanakirja]

Have a chill Christmas! Lockere Weihnachten! Löhöisää joulua!

[you-hate-time-travel]

The saimaa ringed seal is one of THREE lake seal species in the WORLD+???? what the fuck... i thought there'd be a few more but nay.

[kivikunnas]

Saimaa Ringed Seal on ice *Saimaannorppa SULO lepäilee jäällä 4K live v...

[tokspoks]

Just as any average Finn the endangered Saimaa ringed seal loves to be left alone.

Seals usually avoid curious spectators, but as the lake’s ice cover melts they can be seen sunbathing on rocks, which helps it molt. However, seals get easily disturbed by onlookers, who get to close, and are forced to dive away. This causes the animal unnecessary stress.

If ever boating on Saimaa, please remember to take your binoculars with you, so you can enjoy the rare opportunities to watch this unique creature (they are super cute!). If you see a seal lifting its head and tipping its whiskers in the water, you are already too close!

These are some of the pieces i made for the South Savo Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. I’m still trying to get used to digital art. I think I like how these turned out! What do you think?

[mehilaiselokuva]

Finnish vocab from news part 100000000000

Erämaa - wilderness

Isännöidä - to host (even though this word is formed with isäntä (male master/host), it's gender-neutral)

Meppi - MEP

Työkkäri - employment agency

Lytätä - to press flat

Saimaannorppa - Saimaa ringed seal

Yes, I will forever use this picture. Please donate to places like WWF Suomi and Suomen Luonnonsuojeluliitto or to individual local activists to save these little guys. Their living environment is threatened by fishing and climate change and they're one of the most rare seals in the whole world. With your donation, they could be saved. (Sorry for the sudden rant about this seal, I just love them)

Puskaparkkeeraus (puska+parkkeeraus) - "bush parking" parking in a bushy area. More about it here:

Tuotantokatko - pause in production

Kaukolämpöverkko - distance heating network

Raideliikenneonnettomuus - rail traffic accident

[torillatavataan]

Tiesittekö, että WWF:llä on yksityishenkilöiden keräyksiä saimaannorpan hyväksi?

Ehkä sitä vois vaikka vitosen taikka kympin heittää jonku lapsosen norppakeräykseen. Toisaalta käy sääliksi keräyksiä joissa on vaan yks lahjottaja...

[ylakerrananimehomo]

ei saatana. mulla on parasosiaalinen suhde tohon norppaliven norppaan

[jossujb]

Saimaannorppa - Saimaa ringed seal. The best of the seals, if you ask me.

[shinonart]

Old Gods: Day 22 - Seal

According to a tale the seal was born when a swallow's egg fell from a ship into the sea and broke into fish and seals. The seal was important to ancient Finns mostly because it was a valued quarry so there are very few beliefs or myths related to it. It was both a symbolic and a concrete sign of wealth in the waters, but also a competitor who was after the same prey as humans, fish. People would avoid calling quarry by their real names since doing so would bring bad luck with hunting. Due to this the Finnish word for seal, "hylje", most likely derives from the verb "hylätä", to abandon, because it was considered more safe to say that the sea had abandoned and surrendered the animal to humans rather than begin killed by humans. Even without much mythology tied to the seal the animistic traditions were strong. According to animism all animals were thought to have souls and thus were thought to be like humans. All animals were worthy of respect, even and especially prey because people's livelihood depended on them.

You can follow along and use my prompt list if you like! If you want you can tag yours as #oldgodsinktober or #shinonart on all platforms so I can see your works, too!

[anirobot]

 A territory battle Pullervo vs. Phs256

This is not a serious matter!

Seals rarely damage each other.

The attack seen on the stern of the second seal seen in the video is very common.

This stone has been visited by other seals, such as a female seal named “Siiri” and a seal named code “Phs441″.

Phs256:

born: 2016

sex: unknow

[kivikunnas]

Saimaannorppa ja perhonen. Kohtaus elokuvasta Järven tarina, musiikki Pa...