Welcome to You Ask Andy

Frederick Green, age 10, of Winston‑Salem, N.C., for his question:

Can a seal drown?

A baby seal is very scared of drowning. In fact, he refuses to go near the water. He is born on land, usually on some rocky island in the northern oceans. He rests there for the first few weeks of life, enjoying the sunshine and fending on mother's milk. He grows and gets fat. Then comes a fearful day. Little Fatty must have his first swimming lesson and he does not like the idea at all.

Mama may have to grab him in her mouth by the scruff of his neck. She lumbers along to a shallow patch of water and dumps him in. The little follow splashes with his flippers and scrambles back onto dry land as soon as possible. The first swimming lesson is over, but not for long.

Time after time Mama shoves or dumps her darling baby into the; water. And each time he learns a little bit morn about the art of swimming. He learns to hold his breath under water and come up for air. If ho does not learn this all important trick he will drown. For seals are air­ breathing animals.

Pretty soon Junior begins to enjoy the water. He can now dive, use his flippers to swim and maneuver his sleek body gracefully through the water. Coming up for air is old stuff. He does it without thinking. Mama is happy, too. She is ready to take her darling for a swim in open water. For a while Junior swims close beside his big fat loving mama. But soon he is going on daring trips of his own.

When the young seal is three to fear months old the hsrd leaves its northern island. Dozens, ayb© hundreds, swim south through the deep ocean. They swim for hours at a time. They dive for food, but ovary seal has to comp up to the surface to breathe.

A few weeks ago Andy was watching the seals off the coast of California. Dozens of them, parents an teen‑tigers, were enjoying life on a small rocky isle. Some were sunbathing. Others were frolicking in the wetter. As these playful fellows swam and dived there was hardly a splash to show .where were.  But, every few minutes a dark furry face would peep above  the water.  A seal was coming up to breathe cut and refill his lungs with  fresh air.  If he tried to breathy under water ho would drown.

Most seals come up for air every two or three minutes. Some of the larger seals can stay under water much longer than this. In the polar regions some seals may go fishing under the ice. No doubt some of these daring fellows get trapped and drown. Butt as a rule they know of some crack or hole in the ice. When an Eskimo hunter finds such a hole he sits and waits there. Sooner or later, he hopes, a fat seal will poke his furry nose out for a breath of air.

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