Difference Between Sea Lion and Seal

God has created some beautiful creatures in this world and if you start studying each species separately, you will be amazed to see their characteristics. Some of them are completely different from each other and cannot be compared at all. However, there are some, which have quite a few similarities and it is hard to spot any difference in them.

Two of such creatures are the sea lions and the seals. They appear to be quite similar, but do have some differences. You need to be a close observer to find out some of the dissimilarities between the two.

If you observe the sea lions closely, you will be able to notice that they have small flaps over their ears. These are also known as the outer ears, but they are quite small in size and cannot be seen, if you are at a distance.

On the other hand, true seals don’t have such ear flaps at all. However, this doesn’t mean that they don’t have ears at all. They do have holes on each side of their head, but they can only be visible, if you are extremely close to the seal.

Another main difference between the two creatures is that the sea lions make a lot of noise no matter they are on land or under water whereas the seals are not noisy at all. They are not completely silent though and do make soft grunts every once in a while.

Although there is not a massive difference between the bodies of these two animals, yet the seals are better swimmers compared to the sea lions. Their bodies are smaller, so they can move freely under water. Their hind flippers are angled backwards, which allows them to swim efficiently. However, the sea lions are also able to swim better, but they move slightly faster on the land compared to the seals.

The sea lions walk on land by rotating their hind flippers, but the seals don’t have this option of rotating their flippers.

Another major difference between the two creatures is that seals are less social and spend most of their time under water. They only mate once a year, when they come ashore.