Alaska's Iliamna Lake Harbor seals are genetically isolated from entire Pacific Ocean, research reveals

There are only five seal populations worldwide that live year-round in freshwater habitats. The Baikal seal, probably the most well-known, lives in the deepest, oldest lake in the world, 1,600 kilometers from the ocean in Lake Baikal, central Siberia. However, perhaps the most enigmatic population of freshwater seals can be found a little closer to home in Alaska's Iliamna Lake.