Finding a good place to give birth and raise young is not so easy. They return to land to give birth and nurse their young. Sea lions include animals referred to as “fur seals.” Fur seals are named misleadingly because they are apart of the Otariid family with sea lions. Seals vs. Sea Lions - What's the Difference? Both types of seals, sea lions and walruses are all considered to be in the suborder Pinnipedia, which is usually translated as \"fin-footed\" or \"feather-footed.\" Pinnipeds (within the order Carnivora) consist of three families. Here comes the trouble: the fur seal is a kind of sea lion! But even the fur seal and the sea … Pinnipeds are further grouped into three families: Odobenidae, Otariidae, and Phocidae. Explore beautiful aquariums, feed sea lions, or dance with dolphins at SeaWorld. The average weight of a male harbor seal is about 300 pounds and they are about 6 feet long, while a male California sea lion weighs on average 700-800 pounds and is 7-8 feet long. Eared seals include both sea lions and fur seals due to the presence of small external ears, which make them different from true seals. Swim underwater by steering with hind flippers & powering with foreflippers like a bird. Quiet and shy, harbor seals can be seen year-round resting on rocks just offshore. These small, plump seals have spotted gray to black coats. This makes them fast and graceful in the water; however they can only move on land by wiggling awkwardly on their belly. This does not help the already confused general public distinguish between seals and sea lions. Harbor seals have short, hairy, webbed front flippers with claws, whereas sea lions have long, hairless, clawless and mostly skin-covered, fore flippers. Unlike whales, seals and sea lions have not developed the ability to mate and give birth in the sea. Sea lions, on the other hand, are able to “walk” on land by rotating their hind flippers forward and underneath their big bodies. .site-alert-indicator .site-alert-indicator__message p a {color:black;} Jessica loves all animals, whether they fly, swim or crawl she has a passion to learn more about them and how to protect them. The sea lion has a visual external pinnae that looks more like a tiny dog ear. Seals are less social than their gregarious sea-lion cousins. 3. Most pups are born on the Channel Islands located off Southern California in June. Seals also are suited to spend more time in the water than sea lions, which can "walk" on shore with their large flippers and spend time in large social groups. Seals have spotted coats in a variety of shades from white or silver-gray to black or dark brown, while sea lions are brown — their color ranges from chocolate brown in males to a lighter, golden brown in females. Odobenidae is a family of pinnipeds, whose only living specie is the Walrus. Sea lions and fur seals (seals with thick fur that are more similar to sea lions than to true seals) are lumped together in the family Otariidae. Sea Lions Smooth whiskers Ear Flaps Long hairless front flippers & 3 toenails ONLY on the hindflippers. Sea Lions are another aquatic mammal that belongs to the category Pinnipedia. Whisper, a 20-year-old beluga whale at the Georgia Aquarium gave birth to a calf on Sunday, May 17. Sea otters are smaller than seals and sea lions, have stubby front paws and rest by floating on their back. Sea Lions and Fur Seals Steller sea lions are common locally (common in certain areas) on Togiak Refuge. The hind flippers of seals angle backward and don’t rotate. Sea lions have external ear flaps—seals do not. In Alaska we have a number of seal species including harbor seals, bearded seals, ribbon seals, ringed seals, and … Seals lack external ears — they have a tiny ear hole on each side of their head — whereas sea lions have small flaps for outer ears. Pinnipeds are further distributed into the Odobenidae family, which is the walrus; the Otariidae family, which includes eared seals, sea lions, and fur seals; and the Phocidae family, which is the earless seals. SeaWorld Orlando, 7007 Sea World Drive, Orlando, FL 32821. Sea lions do have external ear flaps – you can see it on the side of the head in both of the pictures below as well as other morphological similarities between sea lions: On Saturdays and Sundays, Jan. 9 - 17, meet the SeaWorld team and hear their personal stories about caring for our animals. Whisper moved from SeaWorld Orlando to Georgia Aquarium early last year. • While swimming, the movement is powered by hind limbs in seals, but sea lions generate the moving force from the fore limbs. The breakdown of these families looks something like this: The northern fur seals at the Aquarium generally have a darker color to their fur than the sea lions. View park hours and experience times to plan your day at the park. • Sea lions have long and smooth whiskers, whereas those are … Eared Seals (Otariidae) Marine mammals spend all or the majority of their time in water, and thus are specially adapted to this way of life. What is the difference between sea lions & seals? Seals vs. sea lions is a difficult topic to grasp, but this article aims to clearly illuminate the difference between these two aquatic beasts. Seals are the most prominent of pinnepids, and the others to follow are Sea Lions and Walruses. When in doubt, here’s an easy guide to tell California sea lions apart from harbor seals: Now that you know more about the difference between these two marine animals, find out which one you might be: GUESS WHAT? They have an The only thing to tell them apart is, the fur seal has a comparatively shorter face and softer fur; and male sea lions have mane hair on their necks, like the real lions in Africa. Replies. Seals are smaller than sea lions; male Stellar sea lions can grow to be up to 2,200 pounds. Seals … They are really a type of sea lion. Below you can learn about the differences that set seals and sea lions. [CDATA[ Review Important Safety Guidelines. They Don’t Just Eat Fish. Get the latest news on Pass Member exclusives and offers each month. Together with the fur seals, they comprise the family Otariidae, eared seals, which contains six extant and one extinct species in five genera. Sea lions in the wild may live up to 25 years. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are all in the order Carnivora and suborder Pinnipedia, thus they are called “pinnipeds.” Seals have small flippers, wriggle on their bellies on land, and … Seals and sea lions are marine mammals called ' pinnipeds ' that differ in physical characteristics and adaptations. The Galapagos sea lion takes the scientific name of Zalophus wollebaeki, and is a more direct relative of the California sea lion. The word 'pinniped' means 'fin foot', as the four legs of seals, sea-lions and walrus have developed into flippers to better suit their life in the water. Not exactly the most graceful on land but awesome in water. They are warm-blooded marine mammals that could live both in water and on land. Source: Leopard Seal Hunting Gentoo Penguins, Richard Sidey. IF THIS IS YOU, THEN YOU'RE A HARBOR SEAL! Log in to access special offers or to update your account. 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