Pinnipeds in popular culture
Encyclopedia
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s (from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
pinna, wing or fin, and ped-, foot) or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. Seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s, sea lion
Sea Lion
Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear-flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, and short thick hair. Together with the fur seal, they comprise the family Otariidae, or eared seals. There are six extant and one extinct species in five genera...
s, and walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
es are popular pinniped
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s in the media. They are often portrayed balancing beach balls on their noses and clapping with their flippers. At least three professional sports teams in the San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, area have been known as the "Seals
San Francisco Seals
San Francisco Seals can refer to:*San Francisco Seals , a Pacific Coast League team from 1903–1957*San Francisco Seals , a Western Hockey League team from 1961–1967 that entered the National Hockey League in the fall of 1967, as the California Seals*San Francisco Seals , also known as the San...
."
Notable fictional seals include
- Sophie, a circus seal whom Dr. Dolittle befriends and helps escape back to the ocean, in Doctor Dolittle's CircusDoctor Dolittle's CircusDoctor Dolittle's Circus, written by Hugh Lofting and published in 1924 by Lippincott, is set in England sometime between the original story and the later voyages narrated by Stubbins.-Plot summary:...
(http://www.gutenberg.ca/ebooks-australia/lofting-circus/0607841h.html#ch1-6) and also in Dr. Dolittle (film)Dr. Dolittle (film)Dr. Dolittle is a 1998 American family comedy film starring Eddie Murphy as a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals... - Lou Seal: mascot for the San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
- Kotick: the main character in Rudyard KiplingRudyard KiplingJoseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
's short story The White Seal, later made into a cartoon by Chuck JonesChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio... - Salty a seal that appears in the Disney cartoons Pluto's Playmate and Mickey and the Seal and later in Mickey's Mouseworks and House of Mouse
- The title character of AndreAndre (film)Andre is a 1994 feature film starring Tina Majorino about a child's encounter with a seal. The film is an adaptation of the book A Seal Called Andre, which in turn was based on a true story.-Plot:...
- Slappy the sea lion from the film Slappy and the StinkersSlappy and the StinkersSlappy and the Stinkers is a 1998 adventure/black comedy directed by Barnet Kellman. The film stars B.D. Wong and Bronson Pinchot.-Plot:...
- Whiskers from Manta and MorayManta and MorayManta and Moray are a pair of amphibious superheroes who first appeared in a segment of the omnibus animated TV series Tarzan and the Super 7 in the 1970s....
- Esmeralda the sea lion from the Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954 film)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 adventure film starring Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Peter Lorre as Conseil. It was the first science fiction film produced by Walt Disney Productions, as well as the only science-fiction...
- The San-XSan-Xis a Japanese company that specializes in the creation, production and marketing of goods featuring cute characters such as Tarepanda, Rilakkuma, Kogepan and Afro Ken. The characters are usually anthropomorphic representations of animals or inanimate objects; the character Tissue-san was modelled...
company characters MamegomaMamegomais a series of seal characters created by the Japanese company San-X. The prefix mame, meaning bean in Japanese, is used to refer to miniature versions of things; the suffix goma is an abbreviation of gomafuaazarashi, or sesame seed-mottled seal, which is the Japanese name for the spotted... - Stinky Pete: Fictional cartoon character from the animated television seriesSealab 2021Sealab 2021Sealab 2021 is an American animated television series. It was shown on Cartoon Network's adult-oriented programming block, Adult Swim. It premiered on November 23, 2000 and the final episode aired on April 25, 2005...
. - The main characters of Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a KissRomeo & Juliet: Sealed with a KissRomeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss is a 2006 animated fantasy film about two star-crossed seals from warring families that fall in love against their parents' wishes. It loosely follows the traditional play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare and was released in Europe on July 22, 2006 and on...
- Sparky, an escaped seal in the episode "Love and Sandy" from the 1964 television series FlipperFlipper (1964 TV series)Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park...
- An unnamed robotic seal in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8-bit)Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a 8-bit 1992 side-scrolling platform handheld console video game developed by Aspect Co., Ltd. and released by Sega for their Master System and Game Gear formats. The Master System version was released in Europe on October 16, 1992...
, who serves as the boss of the Aqua Lake Zone. - PokémonPokémonis a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
creatures Seel, Spheal, and Sealeo. - Wolfgang the Seal, former character from Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. - At the end of the fantasy novel Kitty and the Midnight Hour, there is a mention of homo sapiens pinnipedia at the end; a wereseal. This mention is expanded upon in Kitty's House of Horrors, where the heroine meets a wereseal, Alaskan state legislator Lee.
- The Japanese version of the early NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
game Ice ClimberIce Climberis a vertical platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for release on the Nintendo Famicom in Japan and the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1985...
featured enemy seals called Topis. Western versions changed them into yetiYetiThe Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
s.
Because of the creature's name being coincidentally spelled the same as the unrelated word "seal" for a stamp, the confusion of one with the other is an occasional comic gag, as in "Christmas seal", or the live seal produced by Harpo Marx
Harpo Marx
Adolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
in Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers
Horse Feathers is a Marx Brothers film comedy. It stars the four Marx Brothers and Thelma Todd. It was written by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, S. J. Perelman, and Will B. Johnstone. Kalmar and Ruby also wrote some of the original music for the film...
when Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
tries to find the legal seal for a contract document.
Notable fictional walruses include
- The Walrus from Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the CarpenterThe Walrus and the Carpenter"The Walrus and the Carpenter" is a narrative poem by Lewis Carroll that appeared in his book Through the Looking-Glass, published in December 1871. The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice. The poem is composed of 18 stanzas and contains 108 lines, in an...
- Chumley, the walrus sidekick to Tennessee Tuxedo (the Penguin)
- The PokémonPokémonis a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
Walrein. - Wally WalrusWally WalrusWally Walrus is a fictional animated cartoon character who appeared in several films produced by Walter Lantz Productions in the 1940s and '50s....
- Captain Thames in XenogearsXenogearsis a science-fiction console role-playing game developed and published by Square for Sony's PlayStation. It was released on February 11, 1998 in Japan and on October 20, 1998 in North America. The game was never released in PAL territories...