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The Marine Mammal Center's hospital and visitor center in Sausalito, California, has reopened to the public! Book your visit at this time! Tickets are free but should be reserved online upfront. The phrase "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 were in all probability weasel- or bear-like animals that spent more and more time within the ocean and eventually tailored to this marine atmosphere. Pinnipeds are separated into three groups: earless seals, eared seals and walruses. This group includes seals, sea lions and walruses — animals that live within the ocean but are able to return on land for lengthy periods of time. Sometimes known as earless seals or true seals, marine mammals in the phocid household will be simply identified by looking at their ears and flippers. They even have small entrance flippers and move on land by flopping alongside on their bellies, a motion referred to as "galumphing." At sea, true seals transfer their rear flippers back and forth like a fish tail to propel themselves by way of the water. They've ear holes however no exterior 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. Not like true seals, otariids have exterior ear flaps. Their entrance flippers are large, and on land they're able to carry all four flippers underneath their bodies and stroll on them. In the water, they swim using their entrance flippers like oars. They have longer flippers than sea lions, along with a luxuriant coat of fur that was so prized by hunters that it brought them to the brink of extinction within the 19th century. Walruses are in a family of their very own known as the odobenids. Fur seals, in spite of having the word chimpanzee teddy bear “seal” of their name, are actually closely associated 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 dwell within 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 ground. Canadian legal guidelines, however limited looking by the Inuit people is allowed. Walruses are protected below U.S. The Marine Mammal Heart cares about your privacy. Read our privateness policy.