Bearded seals give birth in the spring. In the Canadian Arctic, seal pupping is in May. Further south, in Alaska, most pups are born in late April. Pups are born on small drifting ice floes in shallow waters. They usual weigh around 30–40 kg. They enter the water only hours after they are born, and quickly become very good divers. Mothers care for the pups for 18–24 days. During this time the pups grow at an average rate of 3.3 kg per day. Pups consume an average of eight liters of milk a day. By the time they are weaned, the pups have grown to about one hundred kilograms.