Pinnipeds (from Latin pinna "wing or fin" and ped- "foot"), or fin-footed mammals, are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals. Seals, sea lions, and walruses are well-known examples of pinnipeds. In addition to inspiring the names for many sports teams (such as the three sports teams in the San Francisco, California area known as "the Seals"[1]), pinnipeds have also inspired a number of fictional characters, creatures, and entities across human culture and media.
Seals and sea lions
- In Icelandic folklore, the magical seal on whose back Sæmundur Sigfússon traveled from Europe to Iceland
- Balloon-Meister, a sea lion who is a member of the beast pack, from Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
- Bobbie, a seal hostess of the second season of the Canadian adult animated television series Life's a Zoo
- Chip, a seal from Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater
- Fluke, Rudder and Gerald, sea lions from Finding Dory
- Flynn, an elephant seal in Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
- Pup, a seal from In Search of Santa
- Sirotan, a harp seal Japanese merchandise character[2]
- Stefano, a sea lion in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
- Havoc, also known as Lang in Japan, an anthropomorphic seal who is the main protagonist of the video game High Seas Havoc
- Hunter, a leopard seal in The Penguins of Madagascar
- Short Fuse, a harp seal in the Penguins of Madagascar
- Sophie, a circus seal whom Dr. Dolittle befriends and helps escape back to the ocean, in Doctor Dolittle's Circus ([1]) and also in Dr. Dolittle
- Rojas, a leopard seal in Happy Feet and Happy Feet 2
- Bryan the Beachmaster, an elephant seal in Happy Feet 2
- Lou Seal, mascot for the San Francisco Giants
- Kotick, the main character in Rudyard Kipling's short story The White Seal, later made into a cartoon by Chuck Jones
- Salty, a seal that appears in the Disney cartoons Pluto's Playmate and Mickey and the Seal and later in Mickey's Mouseworks, House of Mouse and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
- The title character of Andre
- Skæg, a seal sea captain in the Danish comics series Rasmus Klump
- Slappy the sea lion from the film Slappy and the Stinkers
- Sully, a sea lion from Danger Rangers
- Thornton, a harbor seal from Shark Bait
- Whiskers from Manta and Moray
- Esmeralda the sea lion from the Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- The San-X company characters Mamegoma
- The main characters of Romeo & Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss
- Sandy, an orphaned seal from the film Sandy the Seal
- Sparky, an escaped seal in the episode "Love and Sandy" from the 1964 television series Flipper
- Wolfgang the Seal, former character from Sesame Street
- At the end of the fantasy novel Kitty and the Midnight Hour, there is a mention of Homo sapiens pinnipedia, a wereseal. This mention is expanded upon in Kitty's House of Horrors, where the heroine meets a wereseal, Alaskan state legislator Lee.
- Robby, friend of Pingu
- Robby, a friend of Lars from The Little Polar Bear
- The titular character of Seabert, a whitecoat seal
- Smaxey, the former seal mascot of Kellogg's Sugar Smacks
- Sneezly, Hanna Barbera's sneezing seal from Breezly and Sneezly
- Selkie, a sea lion from Nim's Island
Walruses
- The Walrus from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter"
- Capn' Cragg, a walrus from In Search of Santa
- Chumley, the walrus sidekick to Tennessee Tuxedo (the Penguin) [3]
- Coach Whistler, a walrus who lives in the Land of Play in Jim Henson's Pajanimals
- Dash, a walrus from The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
- Hercule Moustache, a grumpy walrus with a French accent who lives in Mossy Bay, in 64 Zoo Lane
- Jim McSweeney from the second issue of The Adventures of Sly Cooper
- The Sea Vitch, a rude walrus in Rudyard Kipling's short story The White Seal
- Thrasher, a walrus in Tappy Toes
- Wally Walrus
- Rotor Walrus, a technician walrus from Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie Comics)
- Whoopie the walrus in Rocket: Robot on Wheels
- Winthrop, a walrus in Piper Penguin and His Fantastic Flying Machines
- Kapitein Wal Rus, a sea captain in Tom Poes
- Captain Thames in Xenogears
- The cruel walruses in the movie adaptation of The Jungle Bunch, a Canadian-American children's show
- Wozza, a walrus who lives in a cave in Freezeezy Peak in Banjo-Kazooie
- A walrus named Rusty Walrus who appeared in Crash Twinsanity during the level of High Seas Hi-Jinks, who chases Crash which he calls fresh meat for his pot.
- Russell, a walrus with a storage unit inside in Middlemost Post.
- Mr. Frosty, a walrus who serves as a mini-boss from Kirby series.
References
- ^ "Home". oursfseals.com.
- ^ "Sirotan Town" (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ "Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2013.