Types of Seal

The fin-footed mammal belongs to the Pinnipedia family. There are about 33 known different types of seals. The family of Pinnipedia is divided into 3 different sub-families know as the Odobenidae, Otariidae and Phocidae. The types of the seals are as following:

Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) : It is the second largest and most aggressive seal of all the species. They live in Antarctic Ocean. They feed on krill, fish and small marine creatures, and like fresh caught penguins. Their life span is of 26 years.

Harp Seal (Pagophilus groenlandica): It has brown or black furs and look like a polar bear when they are young. They are found on the coast of Atlantic and Arctic Ocean. They grow up to 5.6 feet in length. Their average life span is of 30 years.

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina): It grows up to an average height of 6 feet. They are found in Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic coastline and Baltic Sea. Their life span is 20 to 35 years for males and female respectively. When compared with other seals they are normally smaller.

Gray seal (Halichoerus grypus): They are of brown and dark gray color and grow up to the length of 10 feet. Their life span is about 30 to 40 years.

Northern Elephant seal ( Mirounga angustirostris): These seals are large and grow up to a size of 14 feet in length. They are of light gray and dark black color. They feed on marine animals and most probably hunt at night.

Southern Elephant seal (Mirounga leonine): These are the largest seal in the world. The males of these species make a roaring sound during the breeding season. They feed mainly on fish, squid and penguins.

Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii): These seals grow up to a size of 10 feet. They are found mainly in McMurdo. In addition, they are very calm in their nature. They look very funny when they lie on their backs and hold their stomach with their flippers and mouth open. It seems that they are laughing holding their stomach.

Hawaiian seal (Monachus schauinsland): These seals grow up to a height of (7-8) feet. These are very good hunters and they have a life span of 25 years. They are found in the waters of Hawaii. They are usually found in groups and are very good swimmers.

Antartic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazelle): These seals have a characteristic of living both on land and in water. They like to eat krill, squid and fish. They can grow up to a size of 6 feet in length. They have a life span of (15-25) years.

Galapagos Fur Seal (Arctocephaulus gazelle): These seals are of dark brown to light gray. They feed mostly at night and have a life span of about 20 years.

Northern Fur Seal (Arctocephalus gazelle): These seals have a small nose and thick fur. They feed on any type of fish. They are found in the northern region of Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Okhotsk and Bering Sea. They have a characteristic to live around the shore line most of the time as they are not good divers.

The types of sea given above are interesting to read and know about them. You can read and know about the ecology and behavior of these seals.