#21: True Seals
What's the difference between a seal and a sea lion?
This is one of the commonly asked questions here at the New England Aquarium and I am here to answer it for all of you who, I know, are just dying to know. And the answer is ... DRUMROLL PLEASE .................. NOTHING!
But my blog cannot and will not end with such a vague answer!
Sea lions are a type of seal that have external ear flaps, can rotate their hind flippers under their bodies and "walk" on land. They use long front flippers for swimming and standing, and have LOTS of blubber (or fat). Fur seals look a lot like sea lions and have almost the same physical characteristics, except they don't have all that blubber to help keep them warm. They have, you guessed it, fur! Both sea lions and fur seals are in the same family and referred to as "eared seals."
You can see the ear flaps and upright posture of Guthrie, a male sea lion:
and Cordova, a female Northern fur seal:
True seals, sometimes referred to as "earless seals," are in another family. This includes all other seals except sea lions, fur seals, and walrus. True seals don't have external ear flaps, they use their hind flippers for swimming, they have a lot of blubber, and short front flippers so they slug around on land. Chacoda, one of our male Atlantic Harbor Seals, is an example of a true seal:
When put side by side, you can really see the similarities and differences. Here at the New England Aquarium, we currently have Atlantic harbor seals and Northern fur seals.
This is one of the commonly asked questions here at the New England Aquarium and I am here to answer it for all of you who, I know, are just dying to know. And the answer is ... DRUMROLL PLEASE .................. NOTHING!
But my blog cannot and will not end with such a vague answer!
Sea lions are a type of seal that have external ear flaps, can rotate their hind flippers under their bodies and "walk" on land. They use long front flippers for swimming and standing, and have LOTS of blubber (or fat). Fur seals look a lot like sea lions and have almost the same physical characteristics, except they don't have all that blubber to help keep them warm. They have, you guessed it, fur! Both sea lions and fur seals are in the same family and referred to as "eared seals."
You can see the ear flaps and upright posture of Guthrie, a male sea lion:
and Cordova, a female Northern fur seal:
True seals, sometimes referred to as "earless seals," are in another family. This includes all other seals except sea lions, fur seals, and walrus. True seals don't have external ear flaps, they use their hind flippers for swimming, they have a lot of blubber, and short front flippers so they slug around on land. Chacoda, one of our male Atlantic Harbor Seals, is an example of a true seal:
When put side by side, you can really see the similarities and differences. Here at the New England Aquarium, we currently have Atlantic harbor seals and Northern fur seals.
Labels: comparison, Harbor Seals, Lindsay, Northern Fur Seal, Sea Lions
posted by NEAQ at
6:01 AM
6 Comments:
Where was that picture of Guthrie taken at?
omg sealions are huuuuge!
I like the ears.
They look good. But I guess it's an easy way to tell em apart
I want to see all of them next time I go!
yeah, and where is guthrie in that pic? doesn't look like NEAQ.
The picture of Guthrie was taken at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.
Post a Comment
Back to Blog