ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Marine counterparts of land creatures

Okay kiddo, you know how we have animals on land like cows, lions, and elephants? Well, there are animals in the ocean too, but they look different because they have to live in water instead of on land.

For example, instead of cows, we have sea cows, also known as manatees. They are big, slow-moving herbivores that live in the warm waters of places like Florida and the Caribbean.

Instead of lions, we have sea lions. These are also big animals, but they are much more agile in water than they would be on land. They live in colder waters like Alaska and hunt for fish and other sea creatures.

And instead of elephants, we have whales. These are the biggest animals in the world, and they live their whole lives in the ocean. They can swim for thousands of miles and eat tons of tiny creatures like krill every day.

So you see, just like there are animals that have adapted to live on land, there are also animals that have adapted to live in the ocean. And it's pretty cool to think about all the different kinds of creatures that live in both places.