# Animals Similar to Seals

Seals are marine mammals. The seal family includes the seal, the sea lion, and the walrus. A seal's respiratory system is adapted for water. Seals can go for forty minutes without a breath, enabling them to dive to a depth of over 2,000 feet. Seals are well adapted for swimming, with very streamlined bodies and flippers that propel them quickly through the water.

Seals spend considerable time lying around on rocky islands and beaches, but they are clumsy on land and move slowly by using their flippers. Baby seals are born on land after a twelve-month gestation period. The pups develop rapidly, some able to swim within a few hours of birth.

Walruses differ from seals - they are larger than most seals and, unlike seals, have tusks, and large ones at that. They can be over 10 feet long and can weigh over 3,000 pounds. They are not, however, larger than elephant seals, which can weigh as much as 8,000 pounds.