The Marine Mammal Middle's hospital and customer heart in Sausalito, California, has reopened to the general public! Book your visit as we speak! Tickets are free but must be reserved online upfront. The word "pinniped" means fin- or flipper-footed and refers back to the marine mammals which have front and rear flippers. Thousands and thousands of years in the past, the ancestors of pinnipeds lived on land. These had been probably weasel- or bear-like animals that spent increasingly more time in the ocean and ultimately tailored to this marine setting. Pinnipeds are separated into three teams: earless seals, eared seals and walruses. This group includes seals, sea lions and walruses -- animals that live within the ocean but are ready to come back on land for long intervals of time. Typically known as earless seals or true seals, marine mammals within the phocid household can be simply recognized by looking at their ears and flippers. They also have small entrance flippers and move on land by flopping alongside on their bellies, a motion referred to as "galumphing." At sea, true seals move their rear flippers again and forth like a fish tail to propel themselves by means of the water. They've ear holes but no exterior ear flaps. You may acknowledge these animals by their flippers and ears. Sea lions and fur seals are part of the otariid family and are typically known big teddy bear shop near me as eared seals. Not like true seals, otariids have exterior ear flaps. Their entrance flippers are large, and on land they can deliver all 4 flippers underneath their our bodies and stroll on them. In the water, they swim using their entrance flippers like oars. They've longer flippers than sea lions, along with a luxuriant coat of fur that was so prized by hunters that it introduced them to the brink of extinction within the nineteenth century. Walruses are in a household of their own known as the odobenids. Fur seals, in spite of having the phrase “seal” in their title, are literally closely related to sea lions. They've air sacs in their neck that may inflate to permit them to float as if they're carrying life preservers. Walruses are one in every of the most important pinnipeds, with males reaching over 3,000 pounds. They reside in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans, within the arctic region. Each males and females have tusks and vacuum-like mouths for sucking up shellfish from the ocean floor. Canadian legal guidelines, but limited looking by the Inuit folks is allowed. Walruses are protected below U.S. The Marine Mammal Middle cares about your privateness. Learn our privacy coverage.