🌊 Ocean animal reports, grades 3–4
31 sheets, one animal each, so every child in a group gets a different one. Pick another set or one animal.
My report: the blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 110 ft (34 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 165 tons (150 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 20 mph (32 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 80 to 90 years |
Read about it
Blue whales have no teeth. Instead they have baleen, rows of bristly plates that work like a sieve: the whale gulps a huge mouthful of sea water and krill, pushes the water out, and keeps the krill. It breathes air through two blowholes on top of its head.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias · Grades 3–4
| Length | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2 tons (1.8 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 to 70 years |
Read about it
A great white shark's teeth sit in rows. When a front tooth falls out, one from behind moves up to take its place, so it never runs out. Great whites can sense the tiny electric signals that living animals give off.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/white-shark, checked 2026-10-30
- NOAA Science On a Sphere, sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/marine-migration-great-white-shark-3d, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height | 3.7 ft (1.1 m) |
| Weight | 88 lb (40 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
Emperor penguins raise their chicks in the middle of the Antarctic winter. After the mother lays her egg, the father balances it on his feet under a warm fold of skin while she goes to sea to feed. A big crowd of penguins huddles together and takes turns standing on the windy outside.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, press release 25 Oct 2022, fws.gov/press-release/2022-10/emperor-penguin-gets-endangered-species-act-protections, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the polar bear
Ursus maritimus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 4.9 ft (1.5 m) |
| Weight | 399 to 1,450 lb (181 to 658 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 25 years |
Read about it
A polar bear's fur looks white, but each hair is clear and hollow, and its skin underneath is black to soak up the sun's warmth. Thick fat keeps it warm while it swims between pieces of ice. Its big paws work like paddles and snowshoes.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, nps.gov/subjects/bears/polar-bears.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the saltwater crocodile
Crocodylus porosus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
Its eyes, ears and nostrils sit on top of its head, so it can float with almost all of its body hidden underwater. Unlike most crocodiles, it can live in salty sea water and sometimes swims between islands. A mother guards her nest and carries her babies gently in her mouth.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service rule, Federal Register 24 June 1996 (govinfo.gov), govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1996-06-24/html/96-15790.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the giant Pacific octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5.9 to 7.9 ft (1.8 to 2.4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 31 to 51 lb (14 to 23 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 3 to 5 years |
Read about it
With no bones at all, a giant Pacific octopus can squeeze through any gap bigger than its beak. Each sucker can taste what it touches. It changes the color and even the bumpy texture of its skin in a blink to match the rocks around it.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, fisheries.noaa.gov/science-blog/view-inside-kodiak-lab-aquarium-post-4, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5.9 to 13 ft (1.8 to 4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 300 to 1,400 lb (136 to 635 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 40 to 60 years |
Read about it
A dolphin makes clicks and listens for the echoes that bounce back, which tells it what is around it, even in dark or muddy water. This is called echolocation. Each dolphin also has its own signature whistle, which may work like a name.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/common-bottlenose-dolphin, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the orca
Orcinus orca · Grades 3–4
| Length | 23 to 26 ft (7 to 7.9 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 4 to 8 tons (3.6 to 7.3 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 35 mph (56 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 30 to 50 years |
Read about it
Orcas travel in pods, and a pod can stay together for life. A white patch sits behind each eye, and the tall fin on its back is different on every orca, so scientists can tell them apart from photos. Pods talk with clicks, whistles and calls that are special to each family.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, home.nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/orca.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/species/orca-orcinus-orca, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae · Grades 3–4
| Length | 46 to 49 ft (14 to 15 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 25 to 35 tons (23 to 32 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 16 mph (26 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 80 to 90 years |
Read about it
Humpbacks have no teeth. They have baleen plates that strain small food out of the water. Sometimes a group works as a team: they blow a ring of bubbles around a school of fish, then swim up through the middle with their mouths open.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/humpback-whale.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, nps.gov/places/humpback-whale.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/humpback-whale, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the sea otter
Enhydra lutris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.9 to 4.9 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 79 lb (36 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 23 years |
Read about it
A sea otter has no blubber, so its thick fur keeps it warm by trapping a layer of air next to its skin. It grooms its fur all the time to keep it fluffy. After diving for food, it floats on its back and uses a rock as a tool to crack open clams, then eats them off its belly like a table.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, nps.gov/kefj/learn/nature/sea-otter.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, nps.gov/places/sea-otter.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the walrus
Odobenus rosmarus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9.8 to 11 ft (3 to 3.5 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1.9 tons (1.7 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 22 mph (35 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A walrus has very sensitive whiskers, and it uses them to feel for clams and other food on the dark sea floor. Its tusks are long teeth, and walruses use them to haul their heavy bodies out of the water. A thick layer of fat, called blubber, keeps it warm.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Walrus Species Status Assessment (PDF), iris.fws.gov/APPS/ServCat/DownloadFile/132114, checked 2026-10-30
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/media/pacific-walrus-bull-0, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, nps.gov/bela/learn/kidsyouth/alaskan-animal-adaptations.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the narwhal
Monodon monoceros · Grades 3–4
| Length | 13 to 18 ft (4 to 5.5 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1,760 lb to 1.8 tons (800 kg to 1.6 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 25 to 50 years |
Read about it
A narwhal's tusk is a tooth that grows out through its upper lip in a spiral. Most tusks belong to males, though some females grow one too. Narwhals live in pods, and in winter they spend their time under thick sea ice, coming up to breathe at cracks.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/narwhal, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the west Indian manatee
Trichechus manatus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 8.9 to 9.8 ft (2.7 to 3 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 992 lb (450 kg) |
| Top speed | 15 mph (24 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 60 years |
Read about it
A manatee glides through warm, shallow water and grazes on seagrass like a cow in a field, which is why it is sometimes called a sea cow. It has to come up to breathe air, but it can rest underwater between breaths. Its flippers have little nails, and it uses them to steer food into its mouth.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/species/manatee-trichechus-manatus, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Big Cypress National Preserve, nps.gov/bicy/learn/nature/mammals.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the green sea turtle
Chelonia mydas · Grades 3–4
| Length | 36 in to 3.9 ft (91 cm to 1.2 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 300 to 351 lb (136 to 159 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 70 years |
Read about it
Green sea turtles are named for the green color of their fat, not their shell. Young turtles eat small sea animals, but grown turtles eat mostly seagrass and algae, and their grazing helps keep seagrass beds healthy. They breathe air, so they must come up to the surface, but they can rest underwater for a long time.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/green-turtle, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the leatherback sea turtle
Dermochelys coriacea · Grades 3–4
| Length | 4.9 to 5.9 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 750 to 1,000 lb (340 to 454 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 50 years |
Read about it
A leatherback's back is covered in tough, rubbery skin instead of hard plates. It dives deeper than any other turtle to find jellyfish, and soft spines in its throat point backward to help it swallow them. Thick fat helps it stay warm, so it can swim far into cold water.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/leatherback-turtle, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the whale shark
Rhincodon typus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 40 ft (12 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 40 tons (36 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 60 to 100 years |
Read about it
A whale shark is a fish, so it breathes with gills, not lungs like a whale. It swims slowly with its huge mouth open and sieves tiny plankton out of the water. Every whale shark has its own pattern of pale spots and lines.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA National Ocean Service, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bigfish.html, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the sailfish
Istiophorus platypterus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 12 ft (3.6 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 128 lb (58 kg) |
| Top speed | 68 mph (109 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A sailfish keeps its tall sail folded down while it speeds along, and raises it when it hunts. It often hunts schools of small fish, and a few sailfish may work together to keep the school bunched up. Its dark blue back and silver belly help it hide, whether you look from above or below.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Shorefishes of the Greater Caribbean (Istiophorus platypterus), biogeodb.stri.si.edu/caribbean/en/thefishes/species/2244, checked 2026-10-30
- NOAA Fishery Bulletin 78(3), 1980 (Beardsley and others, Atlantic sailfish), spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/fish-bull/beardsley.pdf, checked 2026-10-30
- NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts feed ('What is the fastest fish in the ocean?'), oceanservice.noaa.gov/rss/oceanfacts.xml, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the atlantic bluefin tuna
Thunnus thynnus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 13 ft (4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1 tons (910 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 20 years |
Read about it
A bluefin tuna has a smooth, round body and a stiff tail that swishes quickly, so it zips through the water. Unlike most fish, it can keep its body warmer than the sea around it. It never stops swimming, because moving water over its gills is how it breathes.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/western-atlantic-bluefin-tuna, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.5 in (9 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A clownfish wears a coat of slippery mucus that keeps the anemone's sting from hurting it. In return, the clownfish chases away fish that nibble the anemone, and it keeps the anemone clean. A group of clownfish lives together in one anemone, and the biggest one is the boss.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species: clown anemonefish profile, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=3243, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the giant manta ray
Mobula birostris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 26 ft (7.9 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2.6 tons (2.4 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 45 years |
Read about it
A manta ray has two curly flaps beside its mouth that steer plankton in as it swims. It has no stinger, so it is harmless to people. The spots on its belly are different on every manta.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/giant-manta-ray, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the sockeye salmon
Oncorhynchus nerka · Grades 3–4
| Length | 18 to 30 in (46 to 76 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 4 to 15 lb (1.8 to 6.8 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 5 years |
Read about it
A sockeye starts life as a tiny fish in a stream or lake, then swims down to the sea to grow big. After living in the ocean for a while, it finds its way back to the very stream where it hatched, helped by its sense of smell. On the trip home it swims up rivers and leaps up small waterfalls, and its silver body turns red with a green head.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/sockeye-salmon, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the ocean sunfish
Mola mola · Grades 3–4
| Length | 7.9 ft (2.4 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2.5 tons (2.3 tonnes) |
| Top speed | 14 mph (22 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
An ocean sunfish swims by flapping its tall fins above and below its body, like wings, and it steers with a stubby, rounded back fin instead of a tail. It eats jellyfish, which are mostly water, so it needs to eat a lot. After diving into cold water to find food, it rests on its side near the top of the sea to warm up in the sun.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, Olympic Coast, sanctuaries.noaa.gov/pgallery/pgolympic/living/living_10.html, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Acadia National Park, nps.gov/articles/ocean-sunfish-gentle-giants-now-found-in-acadia-s-waters.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/story/solar-powered-fish-jellies-their-bellies-molas, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the lined seahorse
Hippocampus erectus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 2.2 to 7.3 in (5.5 to 19 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 4 years |
Read about it
A seahorse grips seagrass with its curly tail so the current can't sweep it away. It has no teeth and sucks up tiny shrimp whole through its long snout, like a straw. Each of its eyes can look in a different direction at the same time.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, Fishery Bulletin (PDF), spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/01baumfi.pdf, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the moon jellyfish
Aurelia aurita · Grades 3–4
| Length | 12 in (30 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A moon jelly mostly drifts with the currents, pulsing its bell to push itself along. Food sticks to the slime on its bell, and tiny hairs sweep it toward its mouth. Its stinging cells are weak, so a moon jelly's sting is very mild, but it is still best not to touch any jellyfish.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Fort Matanzas National Monument, nps.gov/foma/learn/nature/jellyfish.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the american lobster
Homarus americanus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 35 in (90 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 44 lb (20 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 100 years |
Read about it
A lobster's hard shell does not stretch, so to grow, it climbs out of its old shell and makes a new, bigger one. Until the new shell hardens, the lobster hides among rocks because it is soft. Its two claws are not the same: one is a heavy crusher, and one is a slim cutter.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Geological Survey, Nonindigenous Aquatic Species fact sheet, American lobster, nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?SpeciesID=1087, checked 2026-10-30
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/american-lobster, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 40 to 52 ft (12 to 16 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 15 to 45 tons (14 to 41 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 60 years |
Read about it
A sperm whale dives into the dark, deep sea and can stay under for a long time, because its body stores extra oxygen in its muscles. In the dark it finds squid by making loud clicks and listening for the echoes. Its blowhole is on the front left of its head, so its spout angles forward and to the left.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/sperm-whale, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas · Grades 3–4
| Length | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1.6 tons (1.4 tonnes) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 90 years |
Read about it
A beluga's round forehead is called a melon. It helps the whale send out clicks and listen to the echoes, so it can find fish even under the ice. Belugas have no tall fin on their backs, just a low ridge, which lets them swim right under the sea ice, and calves are born gray and slowly turn white.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/beluga-whale, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the california sea lion
Zalophus californianus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 5.9 to 7.5 ft (1.8 to 2.3 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 240 to 701 lb (109 to 318 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 20 to 30 years |
Read about it
Sea lions have small ear flaps on the sides of their heads, and seals do not. A sea lion can turn its back flippers forward and push up on its front flippers, so it can walk on land. Sea lions rest in big, noisy groups on rocks, docks and beaches.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/california-sea-lion, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the harbor seal
Phoca vitulina · Grades 3–4
| Length | 4.9 to 5.9 ft (1.5 to 1.8 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 181 to 284 lb (82 to 129 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 25 to 30 years |
Read about it
A harbor seal's whiskers can feel the tiny swirls a fish leaves behind as it swims, even in dark, muddy water. Seals rest on rocks and beaches to warm up and nap, then slip back into the sea to feed. A harbor seal pup can swim soon after it is born.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/harbor-seal, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the loggerhead sea turtle
Caretta caretta · Grades 3–4
| Length | 30 in to 3.5 ft (76 cm to 1.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 201 to 351 lb (91 to 159 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 70 years |
Read about it
A loggerhead has a reddish-brown shell and strong jaw muscles for crunching hard-shelled food. Baby loggerheads hatch at night and crawl to the sea. Then they drift on ocean currents and rest in floating mats of seaweed while they grow.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/loggerhead-turtle, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the blue crab
Callinectes sapidus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9.1 in (23 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 5.3 oz (150 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 3 to 4 years |
Read about it
A blue crab walks sideways on pointy legs, and its last pair are flat paddles for swimming. Like a lobster, it grows by climbing out of its old shell, and it is soft until the new shell hardens. Grown-up males have bright blue claws, and females have claws with red tips.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- NOAA Fisheries, fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-crab, checked 2026-10-30