Aquatic Mammals: English Vocabulary List

a large marine mammal known for its impressive size, unique appearance, and remarkable diving ability

"The elephant seal was very large."

"The male elephant seal uses its unusual trunk like nose to roar loudly during breeding season fights."

an enormous marine mammal that is found in every ocean of the world and is considered to be the largest living animal

"The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth."

"The blue whale's heart is the size of a small car and weighs nearly two thousand pounds."

a large marine mammal known for its distinctive appearance, acrobatic behavior, and complex songs

"Humpback whale song."

"The humpback whale is famous for its long complex songs."

a large, black-and-white marine mammal known for its social behavior, intelligence, and adaptability, found in oceans worldwide and known as an apex predator

"The orca jumped high."

"The orca whale hunted in coordinated packs using sophisticated strategies to catch seals and fish."

a marine mammal that resembles a dolphin with a rounded snout

"Look a porpoise is swimming near the boat."

"The harbor porpoise is shy and avoids boats unlike its more playful dolphin relatives."

an intelligent sea mammal that looks like a whale and has a long snout and teeth

"The dolphin is very intelligent."

"A dolphin jumped out of the water near our boat."

a small baleen whale that is known for its sleek body, pointed head, and distinctive white band on each flipper

"The minke whale swam past the boat."

"The minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales but still reaches up to thirty five feet long."

a marine mammal that feeds on vegetables, found in warm coastal waters of Indian and Pacific Oceans

"A dugong eats seagrass slowly."

"The dugong is related to the manatee and spends its entire life eating seagrass in warm coastal waters."

a type of pinniped that belongs to the family Otariidae, known for their dense fur coats, streamlined bodies, and ability to both swim and move on land using their flippers

"Fur seals rest on the rocky shore."

"The fur seal has a thick underfur that made it a prime target for commercial seal hunters in history."

a species of toothed whale known for their large size, distinctive appearance, and social behavior

"Pilot whales often travel in large groups."

"The pilot whale lives in stable family pods and mass strandings of entire groups are common for unknown reasons."

a large baleen whale species known for its distinct appearance, long migrations, unique feeding behavior, and friendly interactions with humans

"Gray whales swim close to the coast."

"The gray whale migrates twelve thousand miles round trip each year the longest migration of any mammal."

a marine mammal known for its distinctive appearance, with a silvery-gray coat and black spots arranged in a "harp" shape on its back

"The harp seal has a fluffy white coat when born."

"The harp seal pup is born with a fluffy white coat that provides insulation until it develops blubber."

a marine mammal found in coastal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, known for its sleek body, spotted coat, and playful behavior in the water

"A harbor seal just popped its head out of the water."

"The harbor seal hauls out on rocks and beaches to rest and digest its food between dives."

a large marine mammal known for its immense size, distinctive square-shaped head

"Sperm whales can dive deeper than any other whale."

"The sperm whale's enormous head contains a spermaceti organ that helps focus sound for echolocation in deep water."

an Arctic whale species characterized by the long, spiraled tusk protruding from its upper jaw

"The narwhal has a long tusk that looks like a horn."

"The narwhal's tusk is actually an elongated tooth that can grow up to ten feet from its upper jaw."