🦭 Harbor seal vs Sea otter 🦦
The harbor seal is a bit bigger than the sea otter. The harbor seal weighs about 3 times as much as the sea otter.
| Row | 🦭 Harbor seal | 🦦 Sea otter |
|---|---|---|
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The harbor seal weighs about 3 times as much as the sea otter. | 181 to 284 lb82 to 129 kg1 | 79 lb36 kg2 |
| Lives The harbor seal lives a bit longer than the sea otter. | 25 to 30 years25 to 30 years1 | 23 years23 years3 |
| Eats The harbor seal eats fish; the sea otter eats meat. | fish, squid and crabs | sea urchins, crabs, clams and snails |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | cool coasts of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans | the cold coasts of the North Pacific, from Alaska to California |
Which one? Harbor seal or sea otter
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the harbor seal or the sea otter yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed.
Compare two more
Getting the animals ready…
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/harbor-seal-vs-sea-otter
Where these numbers come from
- NOAA Fisheries, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.