How big do seals get?

Male gray seals are characteristically larger than females. The average size of a male gray seal is approximately 7-8 feet in length and between 660-770 pounds in weight. Females will average approximately 6.5 feet and between 330-450 pounds in weight. Males' coloration is typically darker than females'.

How big is a full grown seal?

Males measure about 20 feet long (6 meters), while females are about half as long. The smallest is the ringed seal, with an average length of 5 feet (1.5 m) and a weight of 110 to 150 lbs. (50 to 70 kg).

What is the largest seal?

Southern elephant seals breed on land but spend their winters in the frigid Antarctic waters near the Antarctic pack ice. Southern elephants are the largest of all seals. Males can be over 20 feet long and weigh up to 8,800 pounds. But these massive pinnipeds aren't called elephant seals because of their size.

How big is a giant seal?

These seals are famous for being big. They are the biggest of pinnipeds – bigger even than walruses – there being a record of a giant male Southern elephant seal that was between 6.5 and 6.8 m long and weighed over 4000 kg (Carwardine 1995).

Which is bigger a seal or sea lion?

Though their bodies can appear chubby, seals are generally smaller and more aquadynamic than sea lions.

Just How BIG are Elephant Seals? | Super Giant Animals | BBC Earth

Is walrus bigger than seal?

Walrus vs Elephant Seal: Size and Weight

Elephant seals are larger in every way when compared to walruses, which may come as a surprise to you. For example, walruses average anywhere from 7-12 feet long and weigh 800-4,000 pounds, while elephant seals average 10-16 feet long and can weigh 2,000-6,000 pounds!

Has a seal ever attacked a human?

They're large, powerful pinnipeds that hunt warm-blooded prey, including other seals. Attacks on humans are rare but have occurred. According to the New Zealand Department of Conservation, at least one human fatality has been attributed to a leopard seal attack.

Are seals aggressive?

Most seals are not known to be aggressive. Seal attacks on humans are rare, but they are not new. Seals, especially in their natural habitat, are often timid and would not initiate an attack out of anywhere. Yet, when they feel threatened or provoked, they can bite as an act of self-defense.

Can a human outrun an elephant seal?

Elephant seals spend about 20 percent of their lives on land and about 80 percent of their time in the ocean. Although they are aquatic animals, seals on sand can outrun humans. In the sea, they can swim at a speed of 5 to 10 km/hr. Elephant seals dive to great depths.

What is bigger elephant seal or walrus?

Elephant seals are bigger than even the largest male walrus. A male Pacific walrus weighs around 1,700 pounds while a male Atlantic walrus weighs around 2,000 pounds. While male elephant seals are often at least double that.

How long do seals live for?

Life Span of a Seal

If a seal survives the dangers of being a pup, seals are generally long-lived animals. Both the Grey and Common seal have been known to live more than 30 years. One female Grey seal around the Shetland Isles in Scotland was known to be 46 years old.

What's the biggest sea lion?

Steller sea lions are the biggest sea lions in the world. The average adult male, or bull, Steller sea lion can weigh up to 2,500lbs.

Do seals bite?

Like our cherished Assateague ponies, seals are large wild animals and can be extremely dangerous. They will bite – and serious infections can be transmitted to you or your pet.

Are seals related to dogs?

“Dogs and seals are not in the same family, however, and are not closely related. The family that compromises seals, Pinnipedia, split from other caniforms around 50 million years ago.”

Are seals related to cats?

Dogs may be thought of as either their own group, or a slightly removed counterpart to the cat. However, dogs (Caniformes) find much closer relatives in the water, not among cats (Feliformes). Sea lions and seals are not related to other marine mammals, but are actually Caniformes, just like bears and the domestic dog.

What happens if a seal bites you?

If seal finger is left untreated, it can cause a severe infection that makes it hard for people to use their hands, according to the 2009 report. M. phocacerebrale can cause a bacterial skin infection known as cellulitis, in which the skin becomes swollen, red and tender. The infection then progresses to joint damage.

Are seals smarter than dogs?

Hambrick, a cognitive psychologist, also notes that bottlenose dolphins and the grey seals were better able to follow human hand signals, even though dogs are bred to be sensitive to human communications.

Do seals eat humans?

Diet and foraging

It is likely that they are opportunistic in that they prey on whatever is readily available. They are the only seals known to regularly hunt and kill warm-blooded prey, including other seals. Although rare, there are a few records of adult leopard seals attacking humans.

Why does a seal slaps its belly?

According to scientists, seals slap their bellies to warn other seals. This means there are trespassing seals that may want to steal their mates or even harm them. Some seals are aggressive and kill other seals just like any other species. They have their hierarchy and their tribal system.

Are seals intelligent?

Seals. Wild seals are very intelligent, curious and have good coordination, learning tricks easily in captivity. They are highly curious and instinctively protective - there was even a case reported of a seal coming to the rescue of a drowning dog.

Do seals eat each other?

“If gray seals had a police force, this guy would be locked up,” one researcher says. The vast majority of the time, gray seals are happy eating fish. But new research shows that they may, from time to time, eat other mammals—including members of their own species.

Did seals evolve from bears?

Evolutionary path

All seals are pinnipeds, marine mammals with flippers. They evolved from land animals, either otters or bears.

Can sea lions mate with seals?

Unlike whales, seals and sea lions have not developed the ability to mate and give birth in the sea.

Are seals or sea lions more aggressive?

Generally speaking, seals are friendlier to humans and are less likely to attack, and sea lions can be a little more hostile. However, it does depend on the seal. Many sea lions are accustomed to humans, with many being kept in zoos and wildlife parks, and are used to human interaction, making them very friendly.