Seals are part of a group of animals called pinnipeds, which means feather-footed. All members of this group are marine mammals with two front flippers and two hind flippers used for swimming. The other two members of the pinniped group are sea lions and walruses. There are about 20 species of seals.
Grey seals
Grey seals are native to the North Atlantic Ocean. They have a somewhat long snout compared to other seals and have a greyish, spotted fur coat. This species is also commonly called the Atlantic grey seal and the horsehead seal.
Harbor seals
Harbor seals are native to both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Their fur can have a couple to many spots and the color ranges from light to dark grey. Newborn harbor seal pups are bright silver with spots and can be born either on land or in the water.
Elephant seals
There are two subspecies of elephant seal: the northern elephant seal, native to the Pacific coast of the US, Canada, and Mexico, and the southern elephant seal, which is native to the coasts of New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa. The elephant seal has a huge snout-like proboscis, which assists in breathing and also helps males to attract and fight for females during breeding season.
Leopard seals
Leopard seals are found in and near Antarctica. They are vicious predators, hunting a variety of penguin and fish species. Leopard seals are the second-largest seal species found in Antarctica, after the southern elephant seal.
Hawaiian monk seals
Hawaiian monk seals are native to Hawaii, but are very rare. These seals are endangered largely due to human actions including extensive hunting. Hawaiian monk seals are also predated by tiger sharks. These two major threats have caused this seal species to reach a recent population size of only 1,200.
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