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- Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) The Harbor seal is a marine mammal found in the coastal waters of the northern hemisphere. They have streamlined bodies and dappled coats ranging from silver-gray to brown or black.
- Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus) The North Atlantic is home to Gray Seals and large pinnipeds with snouts resembling horses. This is why they are also called Horsehead Seals.
- Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) Harp seals are a species found in the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. They have a distinctive black harp or wishbone-shaped pattern contrasting their silvery-gray fur.
- Ringed Seal (Pusa hispida) The Ringed Seal is the smallest of the Arctic seals, featuring dark spots surrounded by light rings on their fur. As the smallest seal in the Arctic, they weigh 110 to 150 pounds and measure up to 5 feet long.
- Atlantic Puffin
- Brown Booby
- California Brown Pelican
- Red-Tailed Tropicbird
- Magnificent Frigatebird
- Laysan Albatross
- Southern Giant Petrel
- Northern Fulmar
- Cape Gannet
- Common Murre
These seabirds are also known as the Common Puffin. It is part of the Auk family which includes auklets, murres, murrelets and guillemots. Atlantic Puffins live along rocky coastlines and islands, spending their winters far out at sea. They are pursuit divers, using their wings to “fly” underwater to catch fish such as herring, sandeel and capelin ...
The Brown Booby, a close relative of the gannet, shares a similar shape and behavior, though slightly smaller. They rest in large rafts on the water’s surface. Brown Boobies favor inshore waters, whereflying fish and squid dominate their diet, supplemented by halfbeak, mullet, and anchovy. Whileplunge-diving is their main hunting strategy usually u...
Brown Pelicansprefer shallow coastal waters and avoid the open sea. They are highly social seabirds, breeding in colonies and often feeding in groups. While their diet mainly consists of sardines, anchovies and larger fish like mackerel, they’ve also been observed taking shrimp, carrion, and even young egrets. Their dive technique involves plunging...
The Red-Tailed Tropicbird rarely ventures near land. They prey on flying fish, squid and other marine organisms, plunging into the water to catch their meals. These seabirds engage in elaborate aerial courtship displays and often breed on remote islands. They can be found nesting on inaccessible cliffs or simple ground scrapes. Red-Tailed Tropicbir...
The Magnificent Frigatebird spends most of its life soaring through the skies, rarely landing on the ground. They are well-known for their elaborate courtship displays, with males inflating their bright red throat pouches to attract females. These seabirdsprefer to nest in elevated locations like mangroves, bushes, or even cacti, but will nest on t...
The Laysan Albatross is renowned for its elaborate courtship displays and lifelong pair bonds. Their primary breeding grounds lie in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, where the Midway Atoll hosts the largest colony of over 660,000 pairs. While their diet mainly comprises squid, they also consume a variety of fish, crustaceans, and other marine inv...
The Southern Giant Petrel is a powerful seabird of the Southern Ocean, known for its aggressive scavenging behavior and predatory skills. Their diet is varied, from fish and squid to krill and carrion, and they often follow ships to scavenge discarded food. Often referred to as “Stinkers” or “Stinkpots,” these large seabirds are infamous for projec...
The Northern Fulmar has a short neck and chunky bill. It spends most of its time far out at sea and are commonly spotted soaring above the waves on stiff wings, occasionally flapping in a series of rapid beats. They are adaptable nesters, favoring cliffs and rocky outcrops but also using flatter terrain oreven human structures near the coast. Their...
The Cape Gannet is a non-migratory seabird that stays within 500 km of its breeding colonies year-round. Juveniles embark on longer journeys, traveling up to 4,000 km towards the equator before returning to breed at around four years of age. They nest on offshore islands, preferring flat or gently sloping areas, but can also use cliffs and man-made...
The Common Murre is a member of the Auk family and is a highly skilled pursuit diver. Their diet consists mainly of small fish such as shannies, capelin, sandeels and clupeids. foraging range is flexible, adapting to seasonal changes and prey availability. These seabirds often forage close to their breeding colonies, especially during chick-rearing...
- They have been around for a long time. Fossil records indicate that the ancestors of modern seals first entered the ocean on the west coast, about 28–30 million years ago.
- There are three different major types of pinnipeds. “Phocid seals” are also called “true seals” and include several species such as harbor seals and gray seals.
- They have whiskers they use like cats do. Seals and sea lions have many well-developed whiskers, much like cats. Like cats, they have a very acute sense of touch.
- They can go for long periods of time without eating. A seal’s body stores enough fat in the blubber layer to allow the animal to go for extended periods of time without eating.
Seals are carnivorous and dive underwater to hunt for fish, crustaceans, seabirds, and other marine animals. Whales, sharks, and even other seals are the primary non-human predators of seals.
Some species like elephant seals and harbor seals hunt alone, while sea lions and fur seals often hunt in groups. Walruses, however, do not hunt prey in the water column but rather forage with their snouts in the mud for bivalves, like clams.
There are several animals that are like seals, but these 9 are some of the most common found around the world. Some of these animals, such as sea lions and walruses look similar to seals, while other animals like polar bears and beluga whales share the same habitat.
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Amphibious mammals are those that can thrive both in water and on land. Some examples include seals, sea lions, otters, and beavers. These mammals have adaptations that allow them to navigate and live in both aquatic and terrestrial environments effectively.
