Behold: the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus), found in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska! The mother and offspring pairs of seals can remember and recognize each other’s vocalizations for as long as four years. They also perform a behavior called “jughandling” in the water: they tuck their rear and front flippers together in a jug handle shape that sticks out of the water!  

Sketch & fact by Kate Golden, local Sacramento artist and journalist.

[Edited by Isabelle McDonald]

Reference:

Kovacs, K. M., Würsig, B., & Thewissen, J. G. M. (2017). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Elsevier Gezondheidszorg.