Journal Entry

This journal is brought to you by:

  • Ms. Thomas and her first graders (1-01) at Jackson Elementary
  • Ms. Conroy and her third graders and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School

They wanted to take a 'Closer Look' at the Weddell seal family!

Closer Look - FamilyThis journal was brought to you by students at Jackson Elementary and St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Memphis.

It’s All in the Family

What do a Walrus, a Sea Lion and a Weddell seal all have in common? Stumped?

Seal, sea lion and walrus silhouettesWhat do these animals all have in common? Photo Credit: supercoloring.com and childstoryhour.com

They are all Pinnipeds! Are you still stumped? I was too – at first, but pinnipeds are a group of marine mammal who can live both on land and at sea. The word pinniped means ‘fin’ or ‘feather’ footed – referring to their flippers.

All pinnipeds have several things in common. They all:

  • Are mammals – which means they are warm blooded, give live birth, nurse their young, breathe air, and have hair.
  • Are carnivores – which means they eat meat – fish, in this case!
  • Have webbed flippers – two fore flippers and two hind flippers, used for swimming and/or moving on land. (These are equivalent to their hands and feet.)
  • Live on land and at sea - Pinnipeds find their food at sea, so they do spend a lot of time in the water. When they ‘haul out’ or leave the water to get on land or ice, they do so to lay in the sun and rest, give birth, and molt (shed their fur).

The Pinniped Family

There are three families in the order pinnipedia:

  • Phocids – ‘true seals’ like the Weddell seal
  • Otariids – includes sea lions and fur seals
  • Odobenids – the only member of this family is the walrus
WalrusWalrus - the only members of the Odobenids family. Photo Credit: B. & C. Alexander - ARKive

Walrus are easy to identify because of their large size and distinctive tusks, but it is more difficult to tell the difference between a seal and a sea lion. Here are some helpful tips:

Seal and Sea Lion Comparison

You can’t always tell which is which by their names, but their physical features will help you determine if you’re looking at a Phocid (seal) or Otariid (sea lion). For example, the pictures below are of a Common seal and an Antarctic Fur seal – but one is a seal and the other is a sea lion. Use the table below to learn the differences!

Compare a seal and a sea lionWhat are the similarities and differences between this Common Seal (left) and Antarctic Fur Seal (right)? Photo Credits: Common Seal – Geoff Trinder, The Croft, ARKive; Antarctic Fur Seal – Doug Allan, ARKive Comparison chart - seals and sea lionsWhat are the similarities and differences between seals and sea lions?

Can you tell the difference between the two now?

Scientific Classification

Let's dig a little deeper. Here's the Weddell seal’s complete scientific classification:

Weddell seal classificationThe Weddell seal’s complete scientific classification.