Fur seal

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fur-seal

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Subfamily Arctocephalinae
2. What is the family?Otariidae (eared seals), closely related to sea lions
3. What makes fur seals so warm in cold water?Fur seals have a very dense underfur made of fine, soft hairs that trap a layer of air close to their skin. This air layer keeps them warm better than the blubber that true seals use.
4. Where do fur seals live?Most fur seals live in the Southern Hemisphere on the coasts and islands of South America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, and even in the sub‑Antarctic and Antarctic waters. The Northern fur seal lives in the North Pacific, from Japan and Russia to Alaska.

Pinniped: A diverse group of marine mammals, including seals, sea lions, and walruses, characterized by their flipper-like limbs.
Otariidae: The taxonomic family of eared seals, encompassing fur seals and sea lions, distinguished by external ear flaps and quadrupedal land movement.
Phocidae: The taxonomic family of true seals, lacking external ear flaps and moving on land by undulating their bodies.
Thermoregulation: The biological process by which an animal maintains its body temperature within a certain range.