"Bearded Seal" | Dafna Ben Nun

National Geographic Israel's award-winning in-house photographer and veteran Delphis volunteer, Dafna Ben Nun , goes on annual photo expeditions to various locations around the world to document nature in all its glory, focusing on documenting animals in their natural habitat.

 On one of her trips, she visited northern Norway, in 2023, where she documented the bearded seal (pictured).
 The bearded seal ( Erignathus barbatus ) is a unique marine mammal that lives in the Arctic region, and is also common along the coast of northern Norway. Bearded seals feed mainly on bottom-dwelling creatures: mollusks, crabs, clams and small fish, and use their long, sensitive whiskers to locate food in the soft seabed.
 Currently, the bearded seal's status is defined as "least concern" according to the IUCN, but climate change and the accelerated melting of Arctic ice are placing it at increasing risk.

 This work is being sold as part of the " Artists for Marine Mammals " project as a donation to the continued activities of the Delphis Association to protect marine mammals in Israel and educate the younger generation to love the sea.