Marine Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

May 12, 2011

Seals 'See' Echoes of Shapes With Their Whiskers

A seal's whiskers are an invaluable tool during the animal's hunting forays into murky waters. Now, a new study reveals that seal whiskers are sensitive enough to determine the shape of an object just by feeling the ripples it leaves in the water. By testing a 12-year-old harbor seal named...

May 24, 2011

Lethal Parasite Duo Hits Dolphins, Seals

Two parasites, one carried by cats and the other by opossums, are teaming up in the Pacific Northwest to kill seals, otters and other marine mammals. One of the parasites, Toxoplasma gondii, can infect people, though it's most often found in cat feces. That bug is a known contaminant along...

Nov 28, 2011

Some Seal Moms Take Flippers-Off Approach

Gray seals have widely varying mothering styles, with some inattentive seal moms barely checking up on their pups at all, even if they sense a threat to their safety, a new study on seal colonies in Scotland finds. The scientists involved in the study contributed the various parenting styles to...

Dec 8, 2011

In Photos: Abandoned Albino Seal Pup Gets Her Own Home

Abandoned Albino Seal Pup (Image credit: Akvatoria Dolphinarium | Adler, Russia) Nafanya is an albino seal pup who was rejected by her family, but has now found a new home at a Russian dolphinarium. Read on to find out her heartwarming story. [Full article here] Red Fur, Blue Eyes (Image...

Dec 8, 2011

Abandoned Albino Seal Finds Accepting Home

An adorable albino seal pup who was rejected by her family has found a home — and her own webcam — at a Russian dolphinarium. A Russian photographer first came upon the tiny, lone seal on Tyuleniy Island, a small island located in the Sea of Okhotsk, in September. The...

Feb 25, 2014

Why Male and Female Seals Look So Different

Male and female seals look quite different from each other, and now a study shows that climate changes that happened millions of years ago likely contributed to their differences. Male seals tend to be much larger than females, and such differences in size and other characteristics — called sexual dimorphism...

Feb 27, 2014

Images: Rehabilitated Harp Seal Returned to Wild

Preparing for release (Image credit: Laura Poppick)Snow, the juvenile harp seal to the far right, entered the Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center (MARC) at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine on Jan. 28, after being found stranded in critical condition on a frozen marsh. He stayed at the center...

Feb 27, 2014

Juvenile Seal Returns to the Sea After Month in Rehab (Video)

BIDDEFORD, Maine — Bitterly-cold whipping winds and near-freezing water temperatures didn't slow this juvenile harp seal named Snow down as he chugged along the beach and back into the Gulf of Maine Wednesday (Feb. 26) after a month-long stay at nearby rehabilitation facilities. Members of the local nonprofit group Marine...

Apr 4, 2014

Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital Aims to Save Endangered Species

A new hospital for sick or injured Hawaiian monk seals is nearing completion, and will open its doors to seagoing patients this summer. The Hawaiian Monk Seal Hospital, being built in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, by The Marine Mammal Center, a nonprofit veterinary organization in Sausalito, Calif., is now fully funded. The...

Apr 4, 2014

Images of Rescued Seals and Sea Lions

Elephant seals (Image credit: The Marine Mammal Center)The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, Calif., runs a clinic that rescues sick, injured and orphaned seals, sea lions and other marine mammals. Hawaiian monk seal hospital (Image credit: The Marine Mammal Center)The Marine Mammal Center is building a hospital for Hawaiian monk...

Jul 21, 2014

Seals May Use Wind Farms as Hunting Grounds

Offshore wind farms may become seal hunting grounds, new research shows. As the number of offshore wind farms continues to grow, the farms may affect both seals and their prey, the finding suggests. However, it remains uncertain whether the effects will be helpful or harmful, scientists added. Wind farms are...

Aug 7, 2014

Facts About Seals & Sea Lions

Seals and sea lions are semiaquatic mammals that are in a group called pinnipeds, meaning fin-footed. Walruses are also members of this group. While related, all three are in different taxonomic families. True seals, also called earless seals, are members of the Phocidae family, according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information...

Dec 20, 2014

Seals May Have 'Natural GPS'

Peter Rejcek is the editor of The Antarctic Sun. On his behalf, the U.S. National Science Foundation contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. While hunting, Weddell seals have biological adaptations that allow them to dive deep, as much as of hundreds of meters, but also...

Aug 21, 2015

Gruesome Meal: Seagulls Snack on Baby Seals' Eyeballs

Hungry seagulls on the coast of Namibia have a gruesome way of snacking: they peck out and consume the eyeballs of baby seals, according to a new study. But that's not the only strange eating habit these birds have, the researchers said. The kelp gull (Larus dominicanus) has also been...

Nov 1, 2016

Ancient 'Seal' Used Pool-Ball-Size Eyes for Deep-Sea Hunting

SALT LAKE CITY — About 10 million years ago, a seal-like creature likely dove to the dark ocean floor, using its large, pool-ball-size eyeballs to spot squid and other prey, new research finds. The ancient creature is a newly identified species of pinniped, a group that includes animals that are...