Although they have similar characteristics and often share a common role in the ecosystem to fish, dolphins and whales feed their young milk, breathe air and are warm-blooded. Unlike whales and dolphins, seals spend their time in the water and on land and can often be seen on Victorian beaches.
Seals
Two groups of seals are found in Victoria – ‘eared’ seals and ‘true’ seals. As their name suggests, eared seals have a prominent external ear flap, which distinguishes them from true seals, which lack an external ear flap. Eared seals, which may be seen in Victorian waters for all or part of the year, include the Australian fur seal (most common), the New Zealand fur seal and the Australian sea lion. True seals are only occasional visitors to Victoria’s waters, but include the leopard seal and southern elephant seal. Most seals share a diet of fish, octopus and squid; however, the larger true seals can also prey on penguins, birds and even smaller seals.
Whales
Whales are the gentle giants of the ocean and play a crucial role in ocean ecosystems by helping to keep food chains stable. At different times of the year, various whale species can be seen migrating along Victoria’s coastline. Commonly sighted species include the humpback whale, the southern right whale and the blue whale. These whales are classified as baleen whales and are filter-feeders, meaning they sieve small prey items like krill and plankton from the water through their fibrous baleen. They can sing complex songs to communicate with their calves and members of their pod.
Dolphins
Dolphins fall under the category of ‘toothed whales’ and are playful, clever and social creatures. They feed on a variety of fish, octopus, krill and squid. Common dolphins found in Victoria’s waters include the short-beaked common dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. Despite their name, killer whales (or orcas) are actually classified as dolphins, and have been sighted throughout marine areas all over Victoria. Victoria is also the home to the critically endangered Burrunan dolphin, a species of bottlenose dolphin discovered in 2011.
Victorian regulations for marine mammals
Seals
- On land and water: do not approach within 30m of a seal.
- With a dog: keep your dog on a leash and do not approach within 50m of a seal on land.
- On a boat ramp/pier/jetty etc: do not approach within 5m of a seal.
- It is illegal to touch or feed a seal.
Dolphins and whales
It is okay if a whale or dolphin approaches you while boating, but do not approach them closer than the allowed distance.
- On a boat: do not approach within 100m of a dolphin or 200m of a whale.
- On a jet ski: do not approach within 300m of any dolphin or whale.
- When swimming or surfing: do not approach within 30m of a dolphin or 50m of a whale.
- With a dog: keep your dog on a leash and do not approach within 150m of a dolphin or 300m of a whale.
General fun facts
- Humpback whales can travel more than 16,000km each year – the longest migration of any mammal worldwide.
- Australian fur seals can dive to depths of up to 200m in search of prey.
- Unlike us, dolphins must consciously take breaths. This means that they cannot go into a deep unconscious sleep or they would stop breathing. Therefore, they only rest one side of their brain at a time.