Zoology 102 with M & D

Remember the time Daniel and I debated the difference between an aardvark and an anteater? Well, we have finally found our subjects for Zoology 102 with M&D. While eating Sunday dinner with the Jacobsens last week, we got into a discussion about seals. Brief background: my father doesn't like seals. He truly, thoroughly, doesn't like them. He claims they're "ugly" and "they eat too many fish." Yeah. We don't get it either.

Anyway, after discussing my father's serious dislike for seals, my brother asked him how he felt about sea lions. My dad decided that they were okay. This sparked some discussion about what the difference was between these two animals - if there was a difference at all. So, naturally, we turned to our trusty smartphones at the dinner table and Googled some pictures of these guys. Want to know what we discovered?

In the case of seals vs. sea lions...

This guy is a seal:

And this guy is a sea lion:

It turns out, both animals are members of the pinniped family (along with walruses and even otters). But they have some very key differences, as you can see from this diagram:

Here is a more in-depth comparison.

After reading up on these guys, we now feel like we know a little bit more about the animal kingdom. What we still don't understand is how my dad can look at this little guy square in the face and tell him he doesn't like him.

There are some things we'll never understand.