And that made perfect sense to raving loons everywhere I suppose.
A seal doesn’t need to outrun a polar bear. Obviously seal survival hasn’t been dependent upon them outrunning polar bears. Obviously a seal is smarter than you about how to avoid a polar bear.
Of course a seal is smart enough to get away from polar bears, otherwise they’d not be around.
The point though, as it’s been staring you right in the face from the outset, is that their limbs aren’t “functional” beyond hobbling around on land. They’re not in some point along a ga-jillions year timeline in becoming flippers from legs or legs from flippers.
God made them the way they are. Period.