Julia Rutter, age 13, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for her question:
Are seals, sea lions:, and walruses related?
Seals, sea lions and. walruses belong to the Finfeet family of animals. The fancy name for them is pinnipeds, and they are o%assed in the order Pinnipedia. They are all warm‑blooded, air‑breathing mammals. They are all suited to life in the water, though they must come up to breathe. All of them spend some time lolling on rocky coasts or floating on ice floes,
The ancestors of the f infeet were land animals, They were creatures who made their living from the sea. Through the long ages, they spent more and more time in the water. They did more and more swimming and less and less time walking. And very, very slowly Mother Nature changed their bodies to suit their new way of life.
Nature tends to lose what is not being used. The finfeet animals gave up using their walking legs. In time, their legs became fins or flippers. ^,nd flippers are very useful for swimming.
The sea lions belong to the branch of the family called eared seals. Their heads and bodies are gracefully streamlined. for life in the water. But they have small external ears. Tho handsome sea lion gets his name from the shaggy, lion‑type mpne which hangs around his shoulders. He is the clever fellow who performs at the circus. This smarty is but one of many types of eared seals.
The true seals have no external ears. Of the finfeet family, they are most fitted for life in the water. The front limbs are stubby paddles. The hind flippers, though wonderful for swimming, are almost useless on land. The true seals have coats of hair and those that live in the northern ocean have layers of fat blubber to keep them warm.
Some of the true, earless seals enjoy life in sheltered bays and harbors. They often swim far up rivers in fresh water. These follows are called harbor seals. Other harbor seals. Other true seals live in polar regions where they are hunted by Eskimos.
The walrus branch of the Finfeet family also lives in the frozen north. These fellows will never win a beauty contest. But they are very well suited to the lonely life they live in the icy polar seas,
Pt walrus is bigger than his cousins, the sea lions and the seals. Under his heavy coat, layers of fat hang around him like rubber tires, His solemn face is bedecked with a bristly moustache, and a long pair of tusks do nothing to add to his beauty,
He can, however, cope with life in the chilly polar seas, and what's more, he seems to enjoy it.