The Marine Mammal Heart's hospital and customer center in Sausalito, California, has reopened to the public! Book your visit immediately! Tickets are free but should be reserved on-line upfront. The word "pinniped" means fin- or flipper-footed and refers back to the marine mammals which have front and rear flippers. Millions of years pooh teddy bear online in the past, the ancestors of pinnipeds lived on land. These had been most likely weasel- or bear-like animals that spent increasingly more time in the ocean and ultimately adapted to this marine atmosphere. Pinnipeds are separated into three groups: earless seals, eared seals and walruses. This group consists of seals, sea lions and walruses -- animals that reside within the ocean however are able to return on land for long periods of time. Typically referred to as earless seals or true seals, marine mammals in the phocid family may be easily identified by taking a look at their ears and flippers. They even have small front flippers and transfer on land by flopping alongside on their bellies, a movement known as "galumphing." At sea, true seals transfer their rear flippers back and forth like a fish tail to propel themselves through the water. They've ear holes however no external ear flaps. You may recognize these animals by their flippers and ears. Sea lions and fur seals are a part of the otariid family and are typically known as eared seals. In contrast to true seals, otariids have exterior ear flaps. Their entrance
