Polar oceanic water can get as cold as about –2°C! Even temperate or tropical waters might drop as low as –1°C if deep enough. This makes you think, how do marine mammals survive arctic temperatures? In this post, we’ll take the artic plunge into thermoregulation in marine mammals. Let’s Talk Ratios: Size matters! One way […]
Baby, it’s Cold Outside! Thermoregulation in marine mammals Read More »
Let’s give a big Aloha to our new “whale” of the month, the Hawaiian Monk Seal! In this post, we will dive into their subtropical home and explore these endangered creatures. What in the Monk? The monk seal gets its common name from the thick fold of skin around its neck, which resembles a monk’s
These hawaiian monk seals are threatened Read More »
As a child, you may have come across the book “Everyone Poops.” Well, what about farts? In this article, we will explore the lovely world of whale flatulence and try to answer, “Do Whales Fart?” “Better out than in…” Passing gas or farting can be seen in most mammals, even marine ones! It allows animals
This month, we will celebrate the newly classified species, the Rice’s whale (Balaenoptera ricei)! Once mistaken as the Bryde’s (pronounced “broodus”) whale, new evidence proves the rice whale is different, both morphologically and genetically! Same but Different Because of their similar features, scientists misclassified the Rice whale for the Bryde’s whale. They have similar features.
Rice’s Whales: one of the newest species of baleen whales Read More »
Fresh news in the killer whale world, Surprise! (L-86) just gave birth! Since July 2020, three different Southern Resident Killer whales have given birth! J35, Tahlequah, who lost her baby about two years ago, gave birth on September 6th, 2020, to a baby boy, J57. Next, J41, Eclipse, was the second mom, giving birth to
Third newborn for Southern Residents: Killer whale baby boom Read More »
This month, we want to talk about a very large pinniped, the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)! Learn about our tusk fighting, mollusk eating, flipper footed marine mammal of the month. We hope to highlight some facts and their climate-changing plight. Where in the world do they live? There are two subspecies of walrus. The first one
Tusky friends: walruses Read More »
Dolphins are very social creatures. But what happens when they become isolated? Some solitary dolphins seek comfort around navigational buoys and sometimes approach other species like humans. But this one solitary short-beaked common dolphin called Kylie found a way to deal with isolation. This common dolphin hanging out in Scottish waters seems to “speak porpoise,”
This solitary dolphin learned to “speak porpoise” and made new friends Read More »
As you may or may not have heard that there is a potentially new species of a beaked whale! Scientists just discovered this new species off Baja California. Here we explain how scientists discovered this possibly new species. We will also dive into how to determine if there is, in fact, a new species of
Whale Ho! A Potential New Whale Species? Read More »
Let’s travel back in time this month to visit our scary “scaley” friend, or so scientists thought! Get ready to meet our prehistoric predatory whale, Basilosaurus, “The King of Lizards”, or Zeuglodon. Following the bone trail… 1834 in Louisiana, American naturalist, and paleontologist, Richard Harlan (September 19, 1796 – September 30, 1843) received a single
Basilosaurus, the “King of Lizards” Read More »
Did you know you could encounter free dolphins outside of the ocean? Did you know these dolphins are pink and have whiskers?! This month’s we travel deep into the Amazon’s (and the Orinoco) forest and river basins, where we find the elusive Amazon River Dolphin or Boto (Inia geoffrensis). Just Around the River Bend… The
The Amazon River Dolphin: Pink Skin and Whiskers Read More »
