If you dive regularly in California, chances are you’ve gotten to dive with a sea lion.  Or was it a seal?  And were those seals or sea lions sitting on the buoy marking our way back into the harbor?

The California Sea Lion’s range is from the west coast of Canada all the way down to Baja.  The Harbor Seal’s range is from the Arctic down to Baja.  So odds are that you’ll see both if you spend enough time near, on and in the California ocean.  Here’s how to tell them apart.

Sea lions have large front flippers to help swim and glide through the water, which often look like little wings.  They also have rather large hind flippers that help them not only to swim, but to “walk” around on land at their haul-out.

Seals have much smaller, furry flippers but with larger claws, and smaller hind flippers to help them swim.  They have spotted fur.  On land, seals get around by doing the “worm” dance to scoot forward on their bellies.

Lastly, you can always tell a seal from a sea lion up close because the latter has small ear flaps.  A dive with either pinniped will have you exiting the water with a beaming smile across your face.

The post Did You Know? What’s the Difference Between a Seal and a Sea Lion? first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.