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Animal Themes
Mammals
Oceans

Seals

Seals
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.9

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    buoyant, circular, commercial, extremely, freshwater, monk, occasionally, reserve, residence, seabirds, species, mammal, leopard, mainly, rotate, layer
     content words:    Sea World, Lake Baikal, International Fur Seal Treaty

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Seals   
1     When it comes to jumping through hoops or balancing a beach ball on the tip of its nose, no animal can carry out these tricks better than a seal! Indeed, this torpedo-shaped, aquatic mammal is one of the most talented and popular performers at Sea World. But, do you know that there are three families of seals, and that not all seals can do tricks?
 
2     Scientists divide seals into three families: walruses, eared seals (fur seals and seal lions), and true seals. Walruses own a pair of long tusks that neither eared seals nor true seals have. Thus, identifying a walrus is an error-proof task.
 
3     As the name implies, one of the biggest differences between eared seals and true seals is the existence of external ears. Eared seals have external flaps of skin covering their ears, whereas true seals do not. If you cannot get close-up to inspect whether the animal in question has external ears or not, you can observe how it moves around on land. Eared seals are less awkward on land than true seals, because eared seals can rotate their back flippers forward. Furthermore, since eared seals' flippers are longer than true seals', they can use their front flippers to lift themselves out of water or to support their upper bodies. So, do you know which seal family can clap and juggle a ball over its nose? That's right, it is the eared seal!

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
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