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Thanks and stay curious. This is But Why? This is But Why, a podcast for Curious Kids from Vermont Public.

I'm Jane Lindholm.

On this show, we take questions from curious kids just like you, and we find answers.

Our last episode was all about pinnipeds, four flippered, carnivorous, ocean-dwelling mammals who come up on land to rest and have

their babies. We specifically talked about two of the three types of pinnipeds, seals and sea lions.

But we did not talk about the third. Do you remember what it is? Walruses! We promised we would do a bonus episode all about walruses, so we're

back today with our Pinniped expert, Adam Ratner, a marine biologist at the Marine

Mammal Center in Sausalito, California. That's a research and rehabilitation center that takes

in sick or abandoned or wounded seals and sea lions and helps them return to the

wild. They do a lot of studying of these pinnipeds, too. Actually, Adam is speaking with us in front of a

group of baby seals living at the center temporarily, so you might hear them in the background as

this episode goes on. One of the reasons we didn't talk about walruses in the previous episode was because Adam and the other people who work at the center don't take care of any.

I would love to take care of a walrus.

Let me just start by saying that.

But there are no walruses in California.

...