The Pinniped Thread

birdsandbats

birdsandbats

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
This is a thread for discussion of the pinniped species you have seen (both in the wild and in zoos.)
Personally I have seen:
Harbor Seal (Milwaukee, Henry Vilas, Lincoln Park, Como)
Gray Seal (Lincoln Park, Brookfield)
California Sea Lion (Como, Shedd, Milwaukee, Brookfield)
Hawaiian Monk Seal (Minnesota)

Also one question: does anyone have a complete list of pinniped species currently and formerly kept in captivity?
 
I've seen harbor seals and California sea lions. Uh, I think that's it for me, actually. Texas doesn't have much in the way of big aquariums even though we have a huge coastline and could totally justify more aquariums, so there's not a lot of pinniped diversity. I'd really like to see the Hawaiian monk seals, I have relatives in Minnesota so if I ever go visit them I could totally get to the zoo. (went there quite a bit as a kid, but that was before they got seals)
 
I like to consider myself fairly lucky, as I've seen a fairly good variety of species!

Captive:
Stellers Sea Lion
Patagonian Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Grey Seal
Northern Fur Seal
Guadalupe Fur Seal
Walrus

and I will likely be ticking off Harp Seal in the next few days as well.

Wild:
Stellers Sea Lion
California Sea Lion
Harbor Seal
Hawaiian Monk Seal
 
Stellar sea lion(Kamogawa,ocean park hong kong)
California sea lion(kamogawa,yokohama,ocean park hong kong,ueno zoo,chimelong ocean kingdom)
Pacific walrus(Kamogawa,yokohama,ocean park hong kong,chimelong ocean kingdom)
Spotted seal(kamogawa,yokohama,ocean park hong kong)
Ringed seal(kamogawa)
Caspian seal(kamogawa)
Grey seal(Yokohama)
Harbour seal(Ocean park hong kong,ueno zoo,chimelong ocean kingdom)
 
I've seen the following -

Baikal seal (Twycross)
Hooded seal (Gweek)
Californian sea lion (many places)
Patagonian sea lion (many places)
Common seal (wild and captive)
Grey seal (wild)
South American fur seal (Bristol & Living Coasts)
Cape fur seal (WMSP and Rhyl)
 
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In captivity I've seen:

New Zealand Fur Seal
Australian/Cape Fur Seal
Subantarctic Fur Seal
Australian Sealion
Californian Sealion
Patagonian Sealion
Largha Seal
(also some in China labelled as Harbour Seals which were probably Largha Seals, but they look the same)


In the wild I've seen:

New Zealand Fur Seal
Hooker's Sealion
Leopard Seal
Southern Elephant Seal


I haven't seen Baikal Seal in the wild...
 
In the wild I've seen:
  • California sea lions
  • Pacific harbor seals
In captivity I've seen:
  • Pacific walrus (New York Aquarium, Sea World Orlando, Sea World San Diego)
  • California sea lion (many places)
  • Northern fur seal (many years ago in New York Aquarium)
  • Guadeloupe fur seal (Sea World San Diego)
  • Harbor seal (many places)
  • Grey seal (several places)
  • Harp seal (20 years ago in Baltimore Aquarium)
  • Hawaiian monk seal (Minnesota Zoo)
  • Northern elephant seal (Pittsburgh Zoo)
 
I have seen:

Arctic ringed seal
Baltic seal
(Burgers’ Zoo)

Grey seal
Common seal
(wild)

California sealion
South America sealion
(multiple zoos)

Steller sealion
Pacific walrus
(Dolfinarium)

Cape fur seal
(Pairi Daiza)

South American fur seal
(Bristol and Living Coasts)

Bearded seal
Harp seal
(Oceanopolis, years ago though so can’t remember them clearly)
 
First things first.....

Brum said:
I've seen the following -

Baikal seal (Twycross)
Click to expand...

Damn you :P

Secondly.....

South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) - Hamburg, Bristol, Living Coasts
Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) - many captive collections
Northern Fur Seal (Callorhinus ursinus) - Zoo Berlin, Hannover
South American Sea Lion (Otaria byronia) - many captive collections
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) - many captive collections
---
Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) - Hamburg
---
Atlantic Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus grypus) - WILD
Baltic Sea Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus macrorhynchus) - Hamburg, Hannover, Chomutov
Eastern Atlantic Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) - WILD; many captive collections
 
In captivity I've seen:

Australian Fur Seal (SEALIFE Mooloolaba, Sea World)
New Zealand Fur Seal (SEALIFE Mooloolaba, Sea World)
Australian Sea Lion (SEALIFE Mooloolaba)
Californian Sea Lion (Sea World)
 
@TeaLovingDave I'm quite jealous of your walrus sighting so let's call it quits, yeah? ;):p

And I've seen hooded seal... But I'm not rubbing it in, honest! :p
 
Nah - you have a much better chance of seeing walrus in the future than I do Baikal Seal :p
 
I'm in the start, envious for the big lists of dreamed species that most members posted here, jeje. Personally I've seen harbor seal (both in the wild, and in captivity at Barcelona zoo and Duisburg zoo at least), grey seal (in Valencia Oceanographic and Madrid zoo), walrus (in Valencia Oceanographic and SeaWorld San Diego), California sea lion (in the wild and evrerywhere in captivity), South American sea lion (I don't remember, maybe Tierpark Hellabrunn?), Cape fur seal (at Prague zoo) and Steller's sea lion (at Faunia).
I need urgently a travel to Japan (ribbon seals!), heheh
 
I've seen;
Californian Sea Lion (Many collections)
Cape Fur Seal (Rio Safari Elche)
South American Fur Seal (Bristol, Living Coast)
Patagonian Sea Lion (Colchester, Dudley)
Eastern Atlantic Harbour Seal (Weymouth)
 
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I’ve seen three pinniped species in the wild:
· grey seal
· common seal (harbour seal)
· Californian sea lion

And many more in zoos:-
· Bailkal seal
· southern elephant seal
· grey seal
· common seal (harbour seal)
· walrus
· Californian sea lion
· Patagonian sea lion
· Steller’s sea lion
· Cape fur seal
· South American fur seal
· northern fur seal

I can recall seeing London Zoo’s first Baikal seals when I was a very young child (they arrived in 1959) and also remember watching Desmond Morris talk about them on the television programme “Zoo Time”. In addition to London, I’ve also seen the species in Twycross, Berlin Tierpark, Vienna and Leipzig. Sadly, I suspect that I’ll never see another.

The first walrus I ever saw was “Alice” housed in the indoor elephant bathing pool at London Zoo back in 1966 and 1967. I have seen various other walruses since then although “Antje”, who I was fortunate to see a number of times in Hamburg Zoo, is the only living walrus I have seen with impressive tusks. On my last visit to Hamburg Zoo, none of the specimens there then had large tusks. (On my last couple of visits to Hamburg, I saw “Antje” mounted in Hamburg University’s Zoology Museum.)
 
East Atlantic harbour seal
Pacific harbour seal
Grey seal
Baikal seal
Baltic ringed seal
Leopard seal
Californian sea lion
Patagonian sea lion
Australian sea lion
South American fur seal
Cape fur seal
Guadalupe fur seal
Walrus
 
Hyak_II said:
There are none, period.
Click to expand...

Depends on whether or not the lone Southern Elephant Seal at Toba Aquarium has died now - I suspect it has, but it was certainly still alive a year or so ago.
 
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