If a person, say a seal therian unaware of their seal species, were to say they felt like they were a white coat pup but no longer white after puphood, strong parental instincts and leaning towards more colder regions, what species would you recommend looking into and some basic facts about them?
i would say ringed seals, baikal seals, or harp seals!
unfortunately regardless of species seals don't tend to stay with their parents for very long, but while they're together the moms care for their babies a lot.
Baikal seals only live in lake baikal, and their one of the few species of seal only found in freshwater! Compared to some other species they don't have as many predators, and they tend to haul out in large numbers on rocks for warmth.
ringed seals are a pretty beloved species of seals. They're the species that yo-chan and yuki are! They're on the smaller side, like baikal seals. there's also a few subspecies of ringed seals- like ladoga ringed seals (the species that the seal kroshik is, often mistaken for baikal seals), and Saimaa ringed seals, which are very rare.
harp seal pups are probably the most famous seal pups. as adults, they have a beautiful coat in shades of light and dark grey. Their babies are born without a layer of protective fat so they have to put it on quickly through nursing! they're called harp seals due to having a marking on their backs that can resemble a harp.
These are the species I feel fit the bill the best! I hope you can find one that you feel fits best for you. Thank you for sending an ask :D