Scientific name: Phoca vitulina
Taxonomy: Kingdom Animalia → Phylum Chordata → Subphylum Vertebrata → Infraphylum Gnathostomata → Megaclass Tetrapoda → Class Mammalia → Subclass Theria → Order Carnivora → Suborder Caniformia → Infraorder Pinnipedia → Family Phocidae → Genus Phoca
Locations: Eastern Pacific
Group: Marine Life → Mammals → Seals and Sea Lions
These guys are terribly cute, and often playful. They'll come up to you and tug at your fins. Here are some videos of harbor seals.
Seals eat fish. There was one at San Carlos Beach from 2013-2018 who learned to hunt by dive light, and would often accompany us on night dives. We called him Chewie, because he would chew on any fish you shined your light on.
Seals don't have visible ear flaps, just an ear hole. If it's got ear flaps, it's a sea lion, not a seal.
