All the seals consist of semi-aquatic mammals which have adapted both to stay for long periods in the water and can also estar in the land. Seals are included in the order of carnivorous animals.
Characteristics of the seals
the seals consist of semi-aquatic animals which are very versatile for which there are many characteristics that describe them, which we can list as follows:
- They are animals whose body structure is flexible and elongated, essential to be able to be submerged and swim underwater faster.
- They have four firm, flattened, short, flipper-like hind limbs set back. They are very useful for swimming, but they are not very functional when it comes to being out of the water, although there are species of seals that can move nimbly on land.
- These animals in their adulthood present a fur short and often dense. There are species of seals that do not have hair, this varies in the habitat where it is found. The hair of this animal is not to protect them from low temperatures as in other animals, what really protects them from the cold is the thermal protection offered by the thick layer of fat that is located under the leather, represents but also un fourth of the weight of the seal
- These animals do not have ears but it does not mean that they do not have ears, on the contrary they have a very fine and sensitive hearing both in the air and in the water.
- When diving, these animals close their ears and nose hermetically so that the water does not enter them.
- The head is small and flattened, the long mustache hairs help it find prey and orient itself in the water.
- The nails of the front fins allow them to grab objects, rocks and also allow them to grab hold of ice blocks they have five equal fingers, while in the rear fins the ends are more robust.
- The noises that the seals emit are called snorts, their breathing is deep and strong.
Types of Seals
There are thirty-three varieties of seal species currently identified in the world, of which we can mention a few:
- leopard seal: Second largest.
- Harp Seals: very numerous species lives in the Arctic and North Atlantic.
- Harbor Seal: they are usually small in size.
- Gray Seals: lives in the North Atlantic are the most photographed.
- Northern Elephant Seal: small size specimen.
- Southern Elephant Seal: It is the first largest in the world.
- Mediterranean Seal: They are characterized by having a clock mark on them.
What do they eat and how do they behave?
The seals never leave the shore because their food is in the water and the sea is their refuge. They feed mainly on molluscs, octopuses, crustaceans and fish. As you can see, their diet is varied, and this is determined by the area they inhabit and the species they are carnivorous animals that feed on many types of fish.
They dive into the water using their fins, and as we mentioned before, their whiskers and sensitive ears are used to catch their food, they stick their large teeth into them and swallow their food in one bite, like all animals they need water but seals They get it from food and thus avoid drinking salt water.
Where Do Seals Live?
Most of the seals live in seas of cold and temperate regions such as Antarctica are the most frequent areas, they can spend a long time in the High Seas, it should be noted that seals can also be found on more tropical coasts, but not very frequently since they are not friends of heat. These animals can withstand and survive very low temperatures, although this varies according to the species.
The seals that live in tropical areas do not have a layer of fat and are smaller, unlike those that live in cold areas that have a thick layer of fat and are larger.
The seal out of the water
They become clumsy animals are very slow on the ground. They cannot walk on their hind flippers because they are backwards so they are forced to move as if they were crawling by supporting their front flippers and they crawl on their bellies with pushes or small jumps.
You can find a large number of seals gathered on the shore, crowded together to raise their body temperature, they shed their hair, play, sleep and mate, the herd is always seen moving together along all the coasts and they share the territory with penguins and others. semi-aquatic animals, on the rocks they move very easily and are one of their favorite places.
life among icebergs
The seals of the zones with low temperatures, spend almost all the time under the ice in search of food, whose ice sheets are more than 1 meter thick, tearing the ice with their teeth, they maintain a small hole to go out to breathe every some time.
They make the hole small so that the polar bear does not find it since it is the main enemy of the seals, the bear waits when the seals come out to breathe, attacks them and eats them. Under water this territory is defended by the males of the pack.
mating and reproduction
The reproduction of the seals occurs in May and June, the males fight to dominate the territory on the shore. They then force the female into her domain and mate, even the males may go without food so another male doesn't mate with the female in her territory.
After the continuous fights, the dominant ones will be the ones that will have the right to mate.. The mating ritual is to roll along the shore between them where hormones are released that attract the female, they place their snout on the other's neck and the act takes place. The female develops an egg protected by the uterus where they produce more hormones, she keeps it in her womb for 9 to 11 months.
Females every year mate in the same territory, give birth to a single offspring. If they have twins, they abandon one child to take better care of the other, in just four weeks the offspring are on their own. They are the only mammal that feeds for less time on breast milk, suckling only between ten and fourteen days.
Your big threat
The skin of the seal is highly prized. There are also areas where they consume their meat and extract their oil. Seal hunting and fishing are the main threats to this animal.
On land
There are always large groups that are found on the coasts, the only animal that attacks them on land is the polar bear, this when it is very hungry and like all wild animals it will instinctively attack them in order to feed itself.
In water
When they are threatened on land they flee to take refuge in the water where they feel safer. But like the dolphin, sometimes the seals end up in the nets set by fishing boats. Just as on land the polar bear is its main predator, we can also observe in the Shark Characteristics, that the seal is hunted by them and by the whales.
Endangered seals
Actually, the human being is the cause of the extinction of this species, like other species of terrestrial and aquatic animals in the world. They are in charge of injuring them, killing them for their skin trade, destroying their habitat, leaving them without food, among other things.
Sometimes they are hunted to captivate them and use them in aquarium shows, just as it happens with dolphins. You have to be a little aware that everything is a chain and the extinction of the seals can result in the extinction of the species that feed on them.