Learn About Seals

To keep warm in cold conditions, seals have a layer of fat, or blubber, under their skin, 2.5 to 15 centimetres thick. The layer of blubber also gives them energy when there is little food available. Most kinds of seal have hairy skin, but male walruses have an almost hair-free body. All seals have narrow, slit-like nostrils that close when they swim. Flippers propel the seal well in the water but are not much good for walking on land!

The ringed seal, which lives in the Arctic, is the smallest seal. It is about 1.5 metres long and weighs around 90 kilograms. The largest seal is the oddly-named southern elephant seal. It lives in the waters off South America. The elephant seal is so-called because of its long snout and thick, tough-looking skin. It weighs up to 3,600 kilograms and measures 6.5 metres long.

Seals are found along the coasts of continents in most parts of the world. A few live in inland seas and lakes. Some kinds of seal, including ringed seals and harbour seals, rest for long periods on land or on floating chunks of ice. Others, such as the northern fur seal, spend about eight months of the year in the sea. Some seals spend much of the time travelling along migration routes. They tend to swim in icy, polar seas rather than warm, tropical ones.

Young seals, called pups, are born on land. Usually, the mother seal gives birth to just one pup, which feeds on her milk. The pups grow inside their mother for between 8 and 12 months. Some seals can swim or travel on land as soon as they are born, but the mother suckles them until they can hunt for themselves.

Seals are carnivores and so only eat meat. Their main diet is fish, squid and octopus. Some seals eat crabs and shrimps, while the huge elephant seal feeds on small sharks and rays. Walruses eat clams.

• The Marine Mammal Center : Northern Elephant Seal


• About Seals - Harpseals.org


• Harp Seal Printout- EnchantedLearning.com - Enchanted Learning


• Learn About Seals and Sea Lions

Communication between mother and pups is made by a cry. A mother seal can recognize her own pup among hundreds of others in the mating grounds simply by the cry it makes.

• Northern Elephant Seal Printout- EnchantedLearning.com


• Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) - University of St Andrews


• Marine Mammals - Seals


• Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses - Office of Protected ...


• The Grey Seal - The Mammal Society


• Seals: New Zealand marine mammals

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by mikebaird

The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses [Paperback]

National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World (National Audubon Society Field Guide) [Paperback]