- Seal Facts - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Gray seals are gregarious animals—they gather in large groups on shore to breed, give birth, and molt Female gray seals live up to 35 years and males about 25 years Gray seals primarily hunt squid, fish, and sandeels; their main predators are humans, sharks, and orcas
- Weddell seals in the Antarctic strategically time their most extreme . . .
Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, may look like couch potatoes when they are resting on ice However, these seals, which are the southernmost population of the southernmost living mammals, are exceptional divers that can reach depths of more than 900 meters and recorded dives lasting 96 minutes, which is well beyond their aerobic threshold
- Seal Whiskers Inspire Marine Technology - Woods Hole Oceanographic . . .
Hungry seals will keep their whiskers ready to search out the tiny clues that lead to food And I’ll keep flipping over rocks to find other useful lessons from nature, waiting to be uncovered This prototype flow sensor, designed by Heather Beem, incorporates seal whiskers’ geometry
- Studying how seals adapt to extreme environments could lead to benefits . . .
“Instead of seals experiencing the negative effects people have with diabetes, insulin resistance may be advantageous in seals and other marine mammals in order to help these animals break down fats while preserving important muscle mass throughout the long fasts they endure while nursing,” said Shero
- Sand, Seals, and Solitude - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
“The seals are likely here to stay,” Gast said, but that has raised questions about whether seals compete with fishermen for diminishing fish stocks, attract great white sharks, cause fecal pollution, and spread diseases Gast and Bogomolni are among several local scientists conducting research to answer these questions objectively
- The value of iron for a seal - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The seals’ whiskers act as a sort of dietary timeline, incorporating molecular signatures from various food sources as they grow Using a technique called stable isotope analysis, the researchers can identify different signatures in a seal’s whiskers and match them to potential prey items
- The Return of the Seals - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The Return of the Seals GROWING HERDS RAISE QUESTIONS ON SHARKS, FISH, AND POOPT by Lonny Lippsett here was once a bounty on gray seals in New England; hunters in Massachusetts and Maine got $5 if they turned in a nose or skin From the 1890s until the 1960s, an estimated 135,000 seals were killed, and seals disappeared from Cape Cod
- Seals and Wild Horses on Sable Island, Nova Scotia
Shero and her colleagues are investigating how iron in the mother seals’ diets impacts the pup’s diving capacity– and survival rates An estimated 90% of Sable Island seal pups die during their first year, most likely because of the increased competition for food “Iron is how seals carry lots of oxygen in their bodies for long dives
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