No, he’s not in distress: it’s mating season, and the ocean is like ten or twelve feet away.

From spring through early summer, the under-ice habitat near Utqiagvik, Alaska, is flooded with the vocalizations of male bearded seals—a sound that can be best described as “otherworldly.”

Meanwhile, thank God, the local natives go on happily munching on them:

Bearded seals—or ugruk in the Inupiaq language—are highly valued by Alaska Native communities in the high Arctic. Since bearded seals are at the center of subsistence and cultural activities in Inupiaq communities, threats to them threaten the communities that rely on them.

“This work never would have happened without the insight and guidance of Arctic communities,” Fournet said. “It was their energy that led the Cornell Lab to place hydrophones in the water. It is our job to continue listening.”