New Zealand Seals

Seals

By Susan Brocker

School Journal, Level 2, August 2015

Learning Intentions:

• We are learning to: Find information in the text.

We are learning to Explain words/phrases in a simple way to

show our understanding.

Learning Activities.

1. List 5 ways that seals are adapted to survive well in water.

• They use whiskers to find their prey
• They have streamlined bodies
• They have Four powerful flippers which make them swim faster.
• The Blubber keeps them warm in cold water. 
• They eat mainly fish and squid.

2. List the 3 most common New Zealand seals and write

down 3 facts about each of them. 

• Sea Lion - The male sea lions are bigger than female ones.

The word lion comes from the fur that the seals have on them.

A sea lion is larger than a fur seal.

• Fur Seal - This is the most common seal in NZ.

They have large dark eyes and a flat nose. They have

fur-covered all over them, that's where they get their name from.

• Elephant Seal - It’s the world's largest seal. It has a big fleshy nose

like an elephant's trunk. It moves slower on land because

of its size.

      

3. List 5 facts you can find about seals and their babies.

• Female seals go back onto land once a year to give birth
• Baby seals stay on land, to play and sleep
• Female seals go out into the sea and hunt for prey
• Male seals stay and protect the land
• When female seals return they can hear their pups

calling out loud with barks.

4. List 3 dangers to seals and say why each of these is

dangerous for seals.

• Pollution - it makes the seals sick
• Fishing nets - The seals get caught up in it and they drown
• Oil - It makes the seals die from the poisons.

Vocabulary  - New, exciting and interesting words:

Explain these words/phrases in a simple way / in your own words.

• Blubber - Fat in their bodies that keeps them warm.
• Environment - A part of the land you live in.
• Mammals - Animals that feed their young milk from their bodies.
• Rookeries - A seal staying place.
• Sensing movement - Able to know if there is anything moving.
• Streamlined bodies - Seal bodies are made to go faster.
• Come ashore - Come onto land.
• Give birth - To have a baby.
• Defend their territory - To protect their own land.
• Pump up their chests - To look tough and big.
• Endangered species - Animals that need help.
• Social animals - Animals that can interact with their own kind.