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Because the hind flippers cannot be moved forward, these seals propel themselves on land by wriggling on their bellies or pulling themselves forward with their front limbs. It makes sense. Pups are born on the open ice or in a snow lair on the ice. But just because dogs and seals look and behave similarly doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in any way related… Or does it? True seals of the genus Phoca are the most abundant in the Northern Hemisphere. Animal Diversity Web. Appendages, for example, such as limbs and feet may have transformed to the characteristic fins and flippers we now see on modern-day seals. In contrast, females are much smaller and of a lighter color. The upper portions of seals’ limbs are within the body, but the long feet and digits remain, having evolved into flippers. Ringed seals (P. hispida) have blotches over their entire bodies, harp seals (P. groenlandica) have a large blotch of black on otherwise mostly silver-gray fur, harbour seals (P. vitulina) have a marbled coat, and ribbon seals (P. fasciata) have dark fur with ribbons of paler fur around the neck, front limbs, and posterior part of their body. Updates? In addition to the presence of external ears, eared seals have longer flippers than do earless seals. QUIZ: What Is Your Dog's Poo-sonality Type? Significant Other, 14 Hilarious "Would You Rather" Questions To Test Your Dog Obsession. 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As it doesn’t offer sufficient thermal protection against the cold, the seal has a very thick layer of subcutaneous fat… which can get to a quarter of its body weight! One of…, When we think of snakes, we often envision an elongated animal with a scaly body, a large jaw with the…, There's some good news in the world of animal conservation, official sources recently revealed that the Tasmanian devil has returned…. The young gain weight rapidly, for the cow’s milk is up to about 50 percent fat. It’s one of the rarest seal species and is in serious danger of extinction. All are excellent swimmers and divers—especially the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) of the Antarctic. The largest is the male elephant seal (genus Mirounga leonina) of coastal California (including Baja California, Mexico) and South America, which can reach a length of 6.5 metres (21 feet) and a weight of 3,700 kg (8,150 pounds). Why Is the Seal Known as the Water Dog? But they also have some key anatomical differences. Actually grey seals live to around 30 in the wild, but they do live longer in captivity. When swimming, a true seal uses its forelimbs to maneuver in the water, propelling its body forward with side-to-side strokes of its hind limbs. The severe decline of sealing worldwide after World War II and the effects of international agreements aimed at conserving breeding stocks enabled several severely depleted species to replenish their numbers. While the exact ancestral link is unknown and widely debated, science can and does tell us that both dogs and seals are members of the same taxonomic suborder of the animal kingdom. You can hardly tell the difference. Most form pairs during the breeding season, but in some species, such as fur seals, the gray seal (Halichoerus grypus), and elephant seals, males (bulls) take possession of harems of cows and drive rival bulls away from their territory.