1999 - 2000 Theme
The Pinnipeds
These Playful Pals of the Sea Need Protection Too!
What are Pinnipeds? Pinnipeds are Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses! "Pinniped" means "fin-footed." Pinnipeds have four flippers -- one pair in front, and one pair in back.
They're mammals, and since they live and find their food at sea, pinnipeds are called marine mammals. (Other marine mammals include whales, dolphins and sea otters.) Pinnipeds are adapted for land and sea. Although most of their lives are spent in the water, pinnipeds, unlike whales and dolphins, also need the land. Pinnipeds may come ashore to rest and bask in the sun, and at least once each year, most species gather on beaches or sea ice to breed and give birth.
Sharks, polar bears, and orcas (killer whales) are among the primary pinniped predators. But the most dangerous marine mammal predators are humans. Pinnipeds were hunted for food and the oil obtained from their blubber. Fur seals were coveted for their beautiful fur, and walruses for their ivory tusks. Even today, fishermen, who see them as fish thieves, commonly shoot pinnipeds.
There are about 34 pinniped species, and all are protected in United States waters under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Protected by laws, most of the threatened or formerly endangered species have increased in numbers. However, the northern fur seal and the Steller's sea lion continue to decline, probably because of competition from the commercial fishery in the North Pacific.
 Grades 9 - 12 Vanessa Russell |
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 Grades K - 2 Caitlyn Hughes |
 Grades 3 - 5 Benjamin Morejon |
 Grades 6 - 8 Elana Noy |