Pinnipeds - Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses

Pinniped is the scientific name for the grouping of carnivorous marine mammals that includes seals, sea lions and walruses. Pinnipeds are adapted for life primarily in the water with fins or flippers instead of feet. They only move onto land (shores or ice floes) for breeding, raising their young and escaping from predators.

There are three families of pinnipeds:

• True seals (phocidae)
• Eared seals (otariidae)
• Walrus (odobenidae)

True seals lack external ears. They have a short inflexible neck and undeveloped front limbs with claws to help them to crawl up on rocks and ice floes. The hind limbs do not rotate forward and are positioned vertically during swimming like a dolphin’s tail.

There are seven species of true seals found in Canadian waters:

• Harbour Seal (Pacific and Atlantic)
• Ringed Seal (Arctic)
• Harp Seal (Arctic and Atlantic)
• Bearded Seal (Arctic)
• Hooded Seal (Arctic and North Atlantic)
• Grey Seal (Atlantic)
• Northern Elephant Seal (Pacific, occasionally)

Eared seals have small external ears, long, flexible necks and rear flippers that can turn forward. They are more mobile on land than true seals and they can use all of their limbs on land. Sea Lions and Fur Seals are the two types of seals that make up this group.

There are three species of eared seals found exclusively in Canada’s Pacific waters:

• Northern Fur Seal
• Northern Sea Lion
• California Sea Lion

Walruses have huge bodies and relatively small heads with no external ears. They have broad, bristled muzzles; and enormously elongated upper canine teeth forming heavy tusks. Like eared seals, walruses can turn their rear flippers forward and use all four limbs when moving onto shore.

Walruses are found primarily in arctic regions. The only species of walrus found in Canadian waters is the Atlantic Walrus. They can occur as far south as Nova Scotia, but the southern limits are usually James Bay and the Labrador coast.

Sea Otters are not pinnipeds. Like pinnipeds, they belong to the order Carnivora, but in the family Mustelidae.

Conservation

Like all marine mammals, pinnipeds face a number of natural and human threats. However, the majority of pinniped species found in Canadian waters boast healthy populations with little or no imminent danger of becoming threatened or endangered.

The exception are two species which are listed under the Species at Risk Act (SARA):

• Atlantic Walrus (NW Atlantic and Arctic)
• Steller sea lion

The Sea Otter is also protected under SARA.
Certain Inuit and coastal  communities hunt seal as an important cultural and subsistence activity. In addition, certain seal species found in the waters off Canada’s Atlantic and Arctic coasts are harvested commercially.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada manages this harvest through its seal management plan which sets out the rules and regulations for a safe, humane and sustainable seal harvest.

For more information on the seal hunt visit our Seals and Sealing in Canada section.