Seals and sea lions are very different creatures, and that's the main thing people asked me about when visiting the habitat.
One of the differences is in their movement. Sea lions are more flexible and can "walk" on their front and back flippers, while seals aren't so lucky. They scoot like a caterpillar, so when I wrote about them in Legasea, I had to show some of the limitations of their movements when they move across the beach or dive off of rocks. Those limitations are also the reason sea lions are often substitued for seals in live shows and movies.
Another difference is in their social behavior. While sea lions are social and can often be seen floating in piles in the water (this is called "rafting"), seals aren't. Seals congregate in large groups, hanging out on rocks or the beach, but they keep their distance from each other. In Legasea, the seals often hang out on the rocks behind Aileen's house, exactly like they do in the wild.
Prior to editing Legasea, I took a trip with my family to San Diego. When they asked me what I wanted to see, I shouted out, “Harbor Seals!” So, on our first morning there, we made the trip out to La Jolla Children's Pool to view the seals in their natural habitat.
It was a very foggy, very quiet morning. I took a lot of pictures and video taped them navigating the rocks and slipping into the water, so I could work extra details into my revisions. Seeing them in the wild vs. observing them in a manmade habitat was a totally different experience. I knew how they behaved, but seeing it first hand really helped to solidify their behaviors in my mind and helped me to revise with more realistic details.
Has researching books led you to any exciting places?
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I saw SEALS in the titles and instantly thought of the hot males in romances. Ooops! Not that kind of seal.
ReplyDeleteI love the extent you went to in researching this post, Krystalyn.
LOL Oh trust me, I found lots of those type of seals when researching on the internet. =)
DeleteThe only place I’ve ever gone to do research was Dublin (for Milligan and Murphy) and we made the mistake of going on a weekend when most of the place was closed down. On the whole it was a bitter disappointment—full of people from the Continent. In fact the first day we were there the girl on the till in Tesco could barely speak English. I kept waiting to feel something wandering down streets were Beckett would have wandered but they were just streets. I really don’t pick up on vibes. Bought a few good books which were helpful but that was about it. The Internet is the first place I jump to these days. Of course there was no Internet when I wrote my first two books. Then I had to trudge to the library to check my facts. It really is a wonderful tool. Where else can you find the best wine to go with crow in under five minutes because I doubt if it took me much longer to locate that wee gem.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wish I had decent libraries around here to do research. Ours are very small and not well stocked. The Internet is the first place I go now too. How wonderful that you got to go to Dublin though!
DeleteI would love to see them in their natural habitat. When I visited San Francisco, there were so many either seals or sea lions (not sure), it was uncomfortable watching them. Very interesting post.
ReplyDeleteIf they were loud, they were probably sea lions. If they were quiet, they were seals. I'd love to go to San Franciso some day.
DeleteBeing from Seattle originally I love sea lions! This book sounds pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks! My dream is to live in the Pacific northwest someday.
DeleteI bet Sea World was a cool place to work. never thought about it, but I guess seals would kind of flop along to move.
ReplyDeleteI loved working at Sea World. The polar bears were my favorite, but seeing as how they're not too friendly, they wouldn't make very good main characters. =)
DeleteI grew up in Oregon and miss seeing the sea lions.
ReplyDeleteLegasea is set in Oregon! My sisters and I want to plan a getaway there soon.
DeleteI saw some sea lions recently after my friends and I took a boat out to a nearby island off the west coast of Australia :) Fun times.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to go places just for writing research, and would do if I could afford it. :)
I wish I could go places just for research as well. We had already planned the trip to San Diego. The seals were just my bonus.
DeleteSea lions sound awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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