S eals get a good rap as one of the cutest marine predators swooshing through our oceans, but did you know that they have nails? Zookeepers become occasional manicurists for their seals and sea lions, many species of which have nails similar to those on our toes and fingers on their flippers. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Curiously, the seal nails look as though they’ve been randomly slapped halfway up the flipper in fur seals , but this is because they sit where the toe bones end. The rest of the flipper is made up of cartilage which is bendy and good for swimming, but they need the stiffness of the toe bones to effectively use their seal nails to groom the fur on their backs.

Fur seals use their nails consta

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