Post by Tikara on Jan 4, 2008 5:09:28 GMT -5
Seals Allowed
Grey Seal
Physical Description: Gray seal coloration varies from blackish with white specks and splotches to whitish with black markings. Generally, males are darker and females lighter. Pups are born white with a yellowish tint. Male gray seals have wrinkled necks, thicker necks and shoulders, and longer, broader, more rounded snouts than females.
Size: Male gray seals are much larger than females, weighing 375 to 880 pounds and growing to almost ten feet long. Females weigh between 220 and 572 pounds and reach lengths of up to seven and a half feet. The size difference between individuals can be even more striking than these averages: Some males weigh three times as much as some females. Seals living in Canadian waters grow the largest.
Geographic Distribution: Gray seals breed from eastern Canada to the Baltic Sea. Canadian breeding areas include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and coastal Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Colonies are also found in coastal Iceland, Great Britain, northern Norway, Denmark, southern Sweden, and Estonia. Young seals wander widely. For instance, Canadian gray seals are sometimes seen as far south as New Jersey.
Habitat: Gray seals breed in a variety of habitats where disturbance is minimal, including rocky shores, sandbars, ice flows, and islands. They feed in cold open waters.
Natural Diet: Gray seals eat a wide variety of fish, squid, octopus, and crustaceans such as shrimp. Sometimes they eat a seabird or two. Small fish are swallowed whole, while larger ones are held in the seal's mouth and torn into smaller, more easily swallowed pieces with the claws on the front flippers.
Harbor Seal
Appearance
The length of males ranges from 150 to 180 cm and the weight from 55 to 105 kg. Females measure 120-150 cm and weigh 45-87 kg. Pups measure 70-90 cm at birth and weigh 9-11 kg. The color of the harbor seal is variable: grey to brownish grey with black spots. Characteristic for the harbor seal are the V-shaped nostrils.
Distribution
The Eastern Atlantic harbor seal can be found in Iceland, the British Isles and Ireland, in Norway upto the Finmark and into the Barents Sea, in the southern part of the Baltic and in the Wadden Sea and North Sea coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Feeding
The diet consists mainly of inshore shallow water fish species, such as flounder, sole, herring, cod, whiting and eel, but also mussels, crabs and squid are eaten. They eat 5-8½ kg per day (Bonner, 1982).
Leopard Seal
The leopard seal is named for its black-spotted coat. The pattern is similar to that of the famous big cat, though the seal's coat is gray rather than golden in color. This seal is sometimes called the sea leopard, and the resemblance is more than skin deep. Like their feline namesakes, leopard seals are fierce predators. They are the most formidable hunters of all the seals and the only ones that feed on warm-blooded prey, such as other seals. Leopard seals use their powerful jaws and long teeth to kill smaller seals, fish, and squid.
These effective predators live in frigid Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, where they also eat penguins. They often wait underwater near an ice shelf and snare the birds just as they enter the water after jumping off the ice. They may also come up beneath seabirds resting on the water surface and snatch them in their jaws.
Shellfish are a far less dramatic prey but still an important part of the leopard seal's diet.
Leopard seals are earless seals. They have long bodies (10 to 11.5 feet/3 to 3.5 meters) and elongated heads. Like most other seals, leopard seals are insulated from frigid waters by a thick layer of fat known as blubber.
Though the leopard seal is known for its coat, it has not been commercially hunted for its skin like its relatives the fur seals.
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 12 to 15 years
Size: 10 to 11.5 ft (3 to 3.5 m)
Weight: Up to 840 lbs (380 kg)
Fur Seal
Appearance
Males are about 200 cm long and weigh around 140 kg. Females are much smaller: 140 cm and 50 kg. There are no recorded measurements for pups. The external characteristics of this species are very similar to those of Arctocephalus townsendi. The fur is black with a lighter ventral and chest. Snout and flippers are elongated.
Distribution
This species can be found in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago and on the Desventuradas Islands off the coast of Chile.
Feeding
The diet consists of fish, cephalopods and lobster.
Sea Lions allowed
California Sea Lion
The California Sea Lion is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.The males can grow up to 300 kg and 2.4 m in size, and the females 100 kg and 2 m. They are typically sociable and often gather in large numbers. They can be found in coastal waters, marinas, and wharves. The body of a California Sea Lion is very streamline with a layer of fat under the skin to keep it warm and buoyant. They have larger eyes due to the dark waters, and long whiskers for touch. Their large eyes help them adjust to low levels of light in underwater environments, while their whiskers augment their sense of touch. This type of sea lion is usually very intelligent and adaptable, and is the type often found in zoos and aquariums.
Steller’s Sea Lion
It is the largest of the “eared seals,” growing up to 3.3 meters in length. Males have been recorded as weighting up to 1,100kg and females around 350kg. Steller ’s sea lion is also known as the Northern Sea Lion. They range from pale-yellow to tawny in color and often appear darker in the water. Their pups are born basically black and due not lighten in color for several months. They can be found in the north from the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, all the way to the Gulf of Alaska. They can be found as far south as the Channel Islands.
South American Sea Lion
Colour: medium brown, paler on head and under belly
Length: 2.3- 2.8m (7.5 - 9 ft)
Weight: 300-350kg(660-770lbs)
It can be found on the coasts of Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina. They have extremely large head, and an upturned snout. The South American Sea Lions are orange in color and have manes. They males mane is usually lighter than then that of the females. The size and weight of this type of sea lion can vary a lot. Males typically have a size of 2.6 m and 300 kg, and the females a size of 2 m and 150 kg. the pups often start swimming earlier than most sea lions, and breeding places are used year round for resting
Australian Sea Lion
This type of sea lion only breeds on the south coast of Australia. It can be found only in the oceans around Australia, and they only eat at sea. Their front flippers propel them through water quickly; they are much more agile on land using all four flippers. They are considered endangered sea lions.
New Zealand Sea Lion
Colour: dark brown to black
Length: 2-3m (7-10 ft)
weight:300-450 kg (600-990lbs)
Is also known as the Hooker’s Sea Lion. It breeds mainly on the southern coast of New Zealand. It is considered an endangered sea lion and has been a protected species since the 1890’s. Around the mid 1990’s it had a population of about 15,000. In 1998, around 20% of this species females and 50% of its pups died due to an outbreak of disease. Can travel up to 1 kilomitre inland to rest, and will travel up to 150 kilomitres in search of food. Diet includes fish, crabs, pengiuns and seal pups.
other
Walrus
colour: pink to deep red
length: 3-3.6m (10-12 ft)
weight:1-2 tonnes (1 1/8 - 2 tons)
male walruses are twice the weight of the females, and both have the famous "tusks that they display, although the males are longer than the female's. They usually eat worms, shell fish shrimps and slow moving fish. To obtain prey they can dive to depths of 100m, and hold their breath for up to 25minutes. pups are weaned ad around 18 months of age. Mothers are extremely protective and adopt orphaned young.
Grey Seal
Physical Description: Gray seal coloration varies from blackish with white specks and splotches to whitish with black markings. Generally, males are darker and females lighter. Pups are born white with a yellowish tint. Male gray seals have wrinkled necks, thicker necks and shoulders, and longer, broader, more rounded snouts than females.
Size: Male gray seals are much larger than females, weighing 375 to 880 pounds and growing to almost ten feet long. Females weigh between 220 and 572 pounds and reach lengths of up to seven and a half feet. The size difference between individuals can be even more striking than these averages: Some males weigh three times as much as some females. Seals living in Canadian waters grow the largest.
Geographic Distribution: Gray seals breed from eastern Canada to the Baltic Sea. Canadian breeding areas include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and coastal Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Colonies are also found in coastal Iceland, Great Britain, northern Norway, Denmark, southern Sweden, and Estonia. Young seals wander widely. For instance, Canadian gray seals are sometimes seen as far south as New Jersey.
Habitat: Gray seals breed in a variety of habitats where disturbance is minimal, including rocky shores, sandbars, ice flows, and islands. They feed in cold open waters.
Natural Diet: Gray seals eat a wide variety of fish, squid, octopus, and crustaceans such as shrimp. Sometimes they eat a seabird or two. Small fish are swallowed whole, while larger ones are held in the seal's mouth and torn into smaller, more easily swallowed pieces with the claws on the front flippers.
Harbor Seal
Appearance
The length of males ranges from 150 to 180 cm and the weight from 55 to 105 kg. Females measure 120-150 cm and weigh 45-87 kg. Pups measure 70-90 cm at birth and weigh 9-11 kg. The color of the harbor seal is variable: grey to brownish grey with black spots. Characteristic for the harbor seal are the V-shaped nostrils.
Distribution
The Eastern Atlantic harbor seal can be found in Iceland, the British Isles and Ireland, in Norway upto the Finmark and into the Barents Sea, in the southern part of the Baltic and in the Wadden Sea and North Sea coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Feeding
The diet consists mainly of inshore shallow water fish species, such as flounder, sole, herring, cod, whiting and eel, but also mussels, crabs and squid are eaten. They eat 5-8½ kg per day (Bonner, 1982).
Leopard Seal
The leopard seal is named for its black-spotted coat. The pattern is similar to that of the famous big cat, though the seal's coat is gray rather than golden in color. This seal is sometimes called the sea leopard, and the resemblance is more than skin deep. Like their feline namesakes, leopard seals are fierce predators. They are the most formidable hunters of all the seals and the only ones that feed on warm-blooded prey, such as other seals. Leopard seals use their powerful jaws and long teeth to kill smaller seals, fish, and squid.
These effective predators live in frigid Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, where they also eat penguins. They often wait underwater near an ice shelf and snare the birds just as they enter the water after jumping off the ice. They may also come up beneath seabirds resting on the water surface and snatch them in their jaws.
Shellfish are a far less dramatic prey but still an important part of the leopard seal's diet.
Leopard seals are earless seals. They have long bodies (10 to 11.5 feet/3 to 3.5 meters) and elongated heads. Like most other seals, leopard seals are insulated from frigid waters by a thick layer of fat known as blubber.
Though the leopard seal is known for its coat, it has not been commercially hunted for its skin like its relatives the fur seals.
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 12 to 15 years
Size: 10 to 11.5 ft (3 to 3.5 m)
Weight: Up to 840 lbs (380 kg)
Fur Seal
Appearance
Males are about 200 cm long and weigh around 140 kg. Females are much smaller: 140 cm and 50 kg. There are no recorded measurements for pups. The external characteristics of this species are very similar to those of Arctocephalus townsendi. The fur is black with a lighter ventral and chest. Snout and flippers are elongated.
Distribution
This species can be found in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago and on the Desventuradas Islands off the coast of Chile.
Feeding
The diet consists of fish, cephalopods and lobster.
Sea Lions allowed
California Sea Lion
The California Sea Lion is found in the northern Pacific Ocean.The males can grow up to 300 kg and 2.4 m in size, and the females 100 kg and 2 m. They are typically sociable and often gather in large numbers. They can be found in coastal waters, marinas, and wharves. The body of a California Sea Lion is very streamline with a layer of fat under the skin to keep it warm and buoyant. They have larger eyes due to the dark waters, and long whiskers for touch. Their large eyes help them adjust to low levels of light in underwater environments, while their whiskers augment their sense of touch. This type of sea lion is usually very intelligent and adaptable, and is the type often found in zoos and aquariums.
Steller’s Sea Lion
It is the largest of the “eared seals,” growing up to 3.3 meters in length. Males have been recorded as weighting up to 1,100kg and females around 350kg. Steller ’s sea lion is also known as the Northern Sea Lion. They range from pale-yellow to tawny in color and often appear darker in the water. Their pups are born basically black and due not lighten in color for several months. They can be found in the north from the Kuril Islands and the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, all the way to the Gulf of Alaska. They can be found as far south as the Channel Islands.
South American Sea Lion
Colour: medium brown, paler on head and under belly
Length: 2.3- 2.8m (7.5 - 9 ft)
Weight: 300-350kg(660-770lbs)
It can be found on the coasts of Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and Argentina. They have extremely large head, and an upturned snout. The South American Sea Lions are orange in color and have manes. They males mane is usually lighter than then that of the females. The size and weight of this type of sea lion can vary a lot. Males typically have a size of 2.6 m and 300 kg, and the females a size of 2 m and 150 kg. the pups often start swimming earlier than most sea lions, and breeding places are used year round for resting
Australian Sea Lion
This type of sea lion only breeds on the south coast of Australia. It can be found only in the oceans around Australia, and they only eat at sea. Their front flippers propel them through water quickly; they are much more agile on land using all four flippers. They are considered endangered sea lions.
New Zealand Sea Lion
Colour: dark brown to black
Length: 2-3m (7-10 ft)
weight:300-450 kg (600-990lbs)
Is also known as the Hooker’s Sea Lion. It breeds mainly on the southern coast of New Zealand. It is considered an endangered sea lion and has been a protected species since the 1890’s. Around the mid 1990’s it had a population of about 15,000. In 1998, around 20% of this species females and 50% of its pups died due to an outbreak of disease. Can travel up to 1 kilomitre inland to rest, and will travel up to 150 kilomitres in search of food. Diet includes fish, crabs, pengiuns and seal pups.
other
Walrus
colour: pink to deep red
length: 3-3.6m (10-12 ft)
weight:1-2 tonnes (1 1/8 - 2 tons)
male walruses are twice the weight of the females, and both have the famous "tusks that they display, although the males are longer than the female's. They usually eat worms, shell fish shrimps and slow moving fish. To obtain prey they can dive to depths of 100m, and hold their breath for up to 25minutes. pups are weaned ad around 18 months of age. Mothers are extremely protective and adopt orphaned young.