How can you tell a sea lion from a true seal?

Sea lions have external ear flaps

What does a walrus use its tusks for?

Hauling out onto ice and fighting

Seals and Sea Lions Trivia Quiz – Names, Facts and Surprises

Watch closely at a California pier and you can tell the difference that this seals and sea lions trivia quiz is built around: ear flaps, flippers and the way they move on land. From walruses in the Arctic to leopard seals in Antarctica, meet the pinnipeds.

Start Seals and Sea Lions Trivia Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Group
What group do seals, sea lions and walruses belong to?
Ears
How can you tell a sea lion from a true seal?
Walk
Which can rotate their rear flippers to walk on land?
Largest
What is the largest pinniped?
Tusks
What does a walrus use its tusks for?
Hunter
Which seal is a top predator of penguins in Antarctica?
Dive
How deep can elephant seals dive?
Pier
Which San Francisco pier is famous for its sea lions?
Monk
Which seals live in warm waters like Hawaii?
Pups
Which seal pups are famous for their white coats?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What group do seals, sea lions and walruses belong to?
Answer: Pinnipeds
The name means fin-footed.
Q2: How can you tell a sea lion from a true seal?
Answer: Sea lions have external ear flaps
True seals have only ear holes.
Q3: Which can rotate their rear flippers to walk on land?
Answer: Sea lions
True seals move by wriggling on their bellies.
Q4: What is the largest pinniped?
Answer: Southern elephant seal
Males can weigh about 4 tonnes.
Q5: What does a walrus use its tusks for?
Answer: Hauling out onto ice and fighting
Its name in Latin means tooth-walking sea horse.
Q6: Which seal is a top predator of penguins in Antarctica?
Answer: Leopard seal
It has a large head and powerful jaws.
Q7: How deep can elephant seals dive?
Answer: Over 2,000 meters
They can hold their breath for over an hour.
Q8: Which San Francisco pier is famous for its sea lions?
Answer: Pier 39
They arrived after the 1989 earthquake.
Q9: Which seals live in warm waters like Hawaii?
Answer: Monk seals
They are among the most endangered seals.
Q10: Which seal pups are famous for their white coats?
Answer: Harp seals
The white coat is shed after a few weeks.

Seals And Sea Lions Trivia Quiz – Fin-Footed Mammals

Seals, sea lions and walruses are pinnipeds, marine mammals with flippers that spend time both in water and on land or ice. They give birth on shore or on sea ice and rely on thick blubber or fur to stay warm.

Sea lions and fur seals have ear flaps and can turn their back flippers forward to walk. True seals lack ear flaps and wriggle on land but are excellent divers. Walruses use their long tusks to haul out and to compete with rivals.

Pinnipeds were once heavily hunted for fur and oil. Many populations have recovered under protection, but some, such as Hawaiian and Mediterranean monk seals, remain endangered, and melting sea ice threatens Arctic species.

What This Quiz Teaches

Students and ocean fans will learn plenty from these questions.

What pinnipeds are
How sea lions differ from seals
Which pinniped is largest
What walruses use tusks for
Which seals are endangered

Did You Know?

Seals can sleep underwater.
Fur seals have very dense fur.
Weddell seals live farther south than any mammal.
Sea lions are very vocal.
Gray seals are common around Britain.