The Marine Mammal Heart's hospital and customer center in Sausalito, California, has reopened to the general public! E-book your visit at this time! Tickets are free however should be reserved on-line upfront. The phrase "pinniped" means fin- or flipper-footed and refers to the marine mammals that have front and rear flippers. Hundreds of thousands of years cute panda teddy in the past, the ancestors of pinnipeds lived on land. These had been most likely weasel- or bear-like animals that spent an increasing number of time in the ocean and finally adapted to this marine environment. Pinnipeds are separated into three groups: earless seals, eared seals and walruses. This group includes seals, sea lions and walruses -- animals that dwell in the ocean but are ready to come back on land for lengthy periods of time. Typically known as earless seals or true seals, marine mammals within the phocid family might be simply identified by looking at their ears and flippers. They also have small entrance flippers and move on land by flopping along on their bellies, a movement called "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 external ear flaps. You may recognize these animals by their flippers and ears. Sea lions and fur seals are part of the otariid family and are typically known as eared seals. In contrast to true seals, otariids have external ear flaps. Their front flippers are large, and on land they're able to carry all four flippers beneath their bodies and walk on them. In the water, they swim utilizing their entrance flippers like oars. They've longer flippers than sea lions, together with a luxuriant coat of fur that was so prized by hunters that it brought them to the brink of extinction within the nineteenth century. Walruses are in a household of their very own called the odobenids. Fur seals, in spite of having the word "seal" of their title, are actually closely related to sea lions. They've air sacs in their neck that may inflate to permit them to float as if they're wearing life preservers. Walruses are one of the largest pinnipeds, with males reaching over 3,000 pounds. They live in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans, within the arctic region. Both males and females have tusks and vacuum-like mouths for sucking up shellfish from the ocean floor. Canadian legal guidelines, however limited searching by the Inuit individuals is allowed. Walruses are protected below U.S. The Marine Mammal Heart cares about your privacy. Learn our privateness policy.