Sea Lions and Seals

Seals and sea lions are sometimes called the dogs of the sea. They are playful, can bite, and they do bark! You can tell them apart because sea lions have earflaps and seals have no earflaps. Also, sea lions have large front flippers that allow them to “sit up” when they are on land (or on a buoy—see the pictures below), whereas seals have small front flippers and therefore are not able to sit up. Instead, seals lie horizontally when they are on land, so they look a bit like fat sausages.

Both seals and sea lions are warm-blooded marine mammals, and they maintain their body warmth with thick blubber. The development of blubber to stay warm in the marine environment is a great example of convergent evolution with the cetaceans (whales and dolphins).

These are California sea lions. They like to haul out of the water and rest in the sun to get warm.

More California sea lions. Notice the earflaps.

Modified from pages developed by John Turbeville.