Seals

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!Seals!

 

Seal are mammals. They are large aquatic mammals distinguished by having all four legs fully adapted into flippers.
 

 There are three families of seals:
bulletThe true seals-lack external ears and have relatively short flippers that don't have much use when walking on land.
 
bulletThe eared seals-including the sea lions and fur seals, sport tiny external ears and can lift their bodies off the ground with their flippers. including the sea lions and fur seals, sport tiny external ears and can lift their bodies off the ground with their flippers.
 
bulletThe walrus-the stout-bodied walrus, with its wrinkled skin and unique tusks, is the only member of its family.
 

While the limbs of seals have developed into flippers, the tail has disappeared. That makes seals different from other sea mammals, such as whales, dugongs, and manatees, which have lost their hind legs and use their powerful tails for swimming. Seals have streamlined and flexible bodies, adaptations that make them excellent and efficient swimmers. Sea lions are the fastest seals and they can swim at top speeds of nearly 40 km/h (25 mph). These seals are so flexible that they can nearly touch their rear flippers with their nose when bending backward.
 

Baby Harp Seal
This baby harp seal, Phoca groenlandica, will sport a silky white coat for only the first three weeks of its life, after which the fur becomes denser and darker.This white coat offers effective camouflage for the pup while it is on snow or ice, providing some protection from its natural predators, such as arctic foxes, polar bears, and large birds. Baby harp seals remain a prime target for human hunters in search of pelts.