Extreme polygamy may be driving male southern elephant seals to early deaths, new research suggests. A study of 14,000 southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) at Macquarie Island in the south-western Pacific, has found that while survival rates for males and females are roughly comparable for juveniles, male survival rapidly decreased after eight years of age, […]
Tag: elephant seal
How One Curious Seal Led Scientists to a Climate Disaster
Climate change is a complex issue, and scientists are constantly working to uncover new evidence that helps us understand the dangers we face. But sometimes, clues to a potential disaster can come from the most unlikely of places. Such is the case with a curious seal and a wayward robot that helped scientists uncover a […]
Seals use their their long, cat-like whiskers to track down their prey in the deep, dark ocean
Seals use their whiskers to track down their prey in the deep, dark ocean, according to a study that observed the sea creatures in their natural habitat. Because light can’t penetrate the darkness of the ocean’s depths, animals have devised a range of adaptations to survive and hunt there. Whales and dolphins, for example, use […]
Man sentenced for shooting protected elephant seal dead on California coast
A man has been sentenced to three months in federal prison for shooting a protected northern elephant seal to death on the central California coast. Armed with a .45-caliber handgun and a flashlight, on the night of 2 September 2019 Jordan Gerbich, 30, opened fire on an elephant seal at a popular viewing area where […]
Video: Up Close With King Penguins and Elephant Seals
Just above Antarctica, off the island of South Georgia, lies a breeding hot spot for elephant seals and king penguins known as Gold Harbour. Filmmaker Richard Sidey captures incredible raw footage and the natural sound of this wild bounty for part of his series, Speechless. With the absence of narrative, the viewer is left to […]
Oceana Fires Back at Flawed Federal Decision not to list Great Whites as Endangered
In the ongoing fight to protect the distinct population of great white sharks off the coast of California and Mexico, Oceana submitted a critical analysis of the federal Biological Review Team’s (BRT) status report used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as the basis for their decision not to list this West Coast population […]
“Weaners” get a second chance!
The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, California plays a critical role in the survival of many marine mammals along the northern and central California coast. Founded in 1975 on a former Nike Missile site in the Marin Headlands, it took in its first seven patients. Much has changed since then and the Center is now […]