I've been a huge fan of seals since I was a kid, and especially have always loved their adorably hilarious way of moving across land. In fact, my sister and I loved the silly movement so much that when we were young we'd pretend to be seals, flip flopping across our living room floor on our bellies (sorry, parents, y'all must have truly wondered what exactly was wrong with us!).
Somehow, even with a lifelong love of seals and their silly movements, I never knew until recently that this ridiculous motion has an equally absurd, and totally fitting, name—galumphing!
The Marine Mammal Center provides a terrific primer on galumphing, which is a movement that seals—and particular harbor and elephant seals—excel at. The Center describes galumphing:
On land, seals move by flopping along on their bellies, a caterpillar-like motion called galumphing. While this seal behavior may sound slow and awkward, they can move quite quickly when they wish to. In fact, elephant seals can galumph up to six miles an hour in short bursts.
The Center also explains that while seals and sea lions are both pinnipeds—which means they have both front and rear flippers—only some seals galumph. Sea lions and fur seals bring all of their flippers underneath their bodies and "walk" on them, instead.
To learn more about pinnipeds and their behavior, visit The Marine Mammal Center, an organization that "advances ocean health through marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, research, and education." And check out the Center's "Visual Guide to Sea Lion and Seal Behavior," which also covers other behaviors such as "hauling out," "thermoregulating," and "porpoising."
Have fun watching some seals galumphing in the videos, below!
Previously: Kiss from a Rose performed by seals
