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Phoca vitulina

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Harbor seals at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, Cambria, CA.

The harbor (or harbour) seal, also known as the common seal, is found in coastal waters of the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Baltic and North seas.

Harbor seals are brown, silvery white, tan, or gray, with distinctive V-shaped nostrils. Individual animals possess a unique pattern of spots, either dark on a light background or light on a dark. The body and flippers are short, and the head is rounded. As with other true seals, there is no pinna (ear flap).

Their global population is 400,000 to 500,000. Seal hunting, once a common practice, is now mostly illegal. While the species is no longer under threat as a whole, subspecies in certain habitats are threatened. Many local populations have been reduced or eliminated through disease, conflict with humans, and encounters with ocean litter.

Enhydra lutris

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We had fun today, observing the antics of sea otters (Enhydra lutris) in the bay near Morro Rock. This marine mammal is native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. It is the heaviest member of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals. The sea otter’s primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. This once led them to be extensively hunted. Since an international hunting ban was imposed, numbers have rebounded somewhat, but they are sill classified as endangered.

Although the sea otter can walk on land, it is capable of living exclusively in the ocean. It mostly eats marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various mollusks and crustaceans, and some species of fish.The sea otter’s use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few marine mammal species to use tools.

I think I was likely observing grooming behaviour today. As the ability of the fur to repel water depends on utmost cleanliness, the sea otter has the ability to reach and groom any part of its body, taking advantage of its loose skin and an unusually supple skeleton. They certainly are adorable!