Harbour seals are what we refer to as 'true seals', as they fall under the Phocidae when it comes to Pinnipeds. There are a bunch of morphological factors that determine a marine mammal is a 'true seal' or not. One major basic is that they have very little manoeuvrability when on land, it is quite amusing to watch and always brings slight smile to my face. Also, it is hard to tell from the photo below but they do propel themselves in the water by using their hind flippers moving them side to side (lateral undulations)- somewhat like how a fish swims. Also, no external ear structure - you can see his hole in the side of his head.
Harbour seals you can frequently encounter around local boat ramps - this is due to the simple fact that they might get some food/scraps from fisherman as they return to the ramp after a day/morning of fishing. They are somewhat territorial and once they do find a good place to get easy food they stay. Hence this old guy hanging around one of the local boat ramps, whom as you can see only has one eye. He knows its likely he will get an easy meal if he is close by and has no problem coming right up to people, which is awesome for taking his photo..
Click image to view full size
!steemitworldmap 48.642715 lat -123.398324 long old man seal d3scr
Thanks for reading and all the support, Steemit!!
Dont forget to Upvote & Resteem!!!
All stories & photographs are of my own work unless noted under the picture in question.
For more stories and photos check out my Instagram feed
Check out my website new website too - Just BCOZ Photography