Seals v Sea Lions

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Nay

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Location
Orange County, CA
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I was watching something last night on the Great Whites at the Cape in South Africa and their food source down there are Cape Fur Seals.
They looks like sea lions to me.
The distinctions that I know are:
1) and eaiest, sea lions have visable ears
2) The body type of a seal is very () just sort of a blob with a bit of a neck but no hips really and not very graceful on land. Sea lions (I'm especially familiar with the CA sea lions and harbor seals) have "hips" which allow them to walk on their hind and fore fins on land. They're usually what you see in shows at Sea World like places and the image you think of when you think of the "seal" at the circus with the ball.

But the Cape Fur seals in South Africa have all of the physcial characteristics of the CA sea lion.
Does anyone know anything about the Cape Furs? Are my distinctions too generalized for my region?
Thanks
-R
 
Nay:
I was watching something last night on the Great Whites at the Cape in South Africa and their food source down there are Cape Fur Seals.
They looks like sea lions to me.
The distinctions that I know are:
1) and eaiest, sea lions have visable ears
2) The body type of a seal is very () just sort of a blob with a bit of a neck but no hips really and not very graceful on land. Sea lions (I'm especially familiar with the CA sea lions and harbor seals) have "hips" which allow them to walk on their hind and fore fins on land. They're usually what you see in shows at Sea World like places and the image you think of when you think of the "seal" at the circus with the ball.

But the Cape Fur seals in South Africa have all of the physcial characteristics of the CA sea lion.
Does anyone know anything about the Cape Furs? Are my distinctions too generalized for my region?
Thanks
-R
We have fur seals up here in the North Pacific as well. (mostly off the open coast, but sometimes in the Strait of Juan De Fuca). Yes, they look like miniature sea lions, so maybe the distinction is just in the name. After all,when most people see a sea lion in the water here they say: "look at the cute seal !".
 
No, your observations are correct. Members of the genus Arctocephalus are otariids (eared "sea lions").

Never trust common names to reflect proper taxonomy... they're shifty things.
 
Seal bites off woman's nose

TUESDAY , 01 NOVEMBER 2005


JOHANNESBURG: A seal has bitten off a South African woman's nose after she tried to help it back into the sea.

Elsie van Tonder, 49, is expected to undergo surgery this week after being bitten on a beach near George, about 400km east of Cape Town on Saturday.

Her nose was found but could not be reattached to her face, local media reported.

"The seal had been lying in the same spot since Friday, so the lady and a few other people were trying to take it back to the water," said Herman Oosthuizen, a marine biologist with the Department of Environmental Affairs.

"The young female seal then bit her in the face."

Cape Fur Seals are common on South African shores and many have become accustomed to humans. They are a popular tourist attraction and can be viewed playing in the sea by Cape Town's waterfront.

But they can be dangerous and sometimes attack people who venture too close, especially in fishing harbours where they come into close contact with fishermen offloading their catch.

"It's a predator, it's got vicious teeth and if it bites you in the wrong place, it could kill you," Oosthuizen said.
 
Sad...

Guess she couldn't smell that one coming...

:D



TRIG:
Seal bites off woman's nose

TUESDAY , 01 NOVEMBER 2005


JOHANNESBURG: A seal has bitten off a South African woman's nose after she tried to help it back into the sea.

Elsie van Tonder, 49, is expected to undergo surgery this week after being bitten on a beach near George, about 400km east of Cape Town on Saturday.

Her nose was found but could not be reattached to her face, local media reported.

"The seal had been lying in the same spot since Friday, so the lady and a few other people were trying to take it back to the water," said Herman Oosthuizen, a marine biologist with the Department of Environmental Affairs.

"The young female seal then bit her in the face."

Cape Fur Seals are common on South African shores and many have become accustomed to humans. They are a popular tourist attraction and can be viewed playing in the sea by Cape Town's waterfront.

But they can be dangerous and sometimes attack people who venture too close, especially in fishing harbours where they come into close contact with fishermen offloading their catch.

"It's a predator, it's got vicious teeth and if it bites you in the wrong place, it could kill you," Oosthuizen said.
 
They are definitely tempermental critters...caution is needed with any WILD i.e. unpredictable animal/mammal. Cases in point, Mike Tyson, Terrell Owens, Ron Artest.
 

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