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Amazing Seal Spotting Cruise With Project Oceanology

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     On Saturday the 27th of March I went on a seal spotting cruise with the researchers at Project Oceanology.  Project Oceanology is a " non-profit education and research facility dedicated to nurturing student and public interest and enthusiasm for marine sciences."  You can read more about their seal watching cruises at the following link:   https://www.oceanology.org/public-cruises .  I really enjoyed this experience!  I felt safe the whole time and saw many seals and other wildlife in the Long Island Sound. The crew members were very helpful, always kept us informed on what the spotting plan was, answered whatever questions we had, and pointed out wildlife that we would not have spotted otherwise. The boat we were on, R/V (Research Vessel) Enviro-Lab II.  All images in this post were taken by me. For those of you who are not familiar with New England, the collage below shows the location where the seal spotting cruise took place, and where we saw the seals (the red circ
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Are Manatees Pinnipeds?

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     Many people think that manatees are a type of pinniped.  This sounds reasonable, since both are cute marine mammals shaped somewhat similarly.   Kali'na watches on while her mom eats lettuce, from website Zooborns However, manatees are actually in a group of animals called "sirenians" which include the West Indian Manatee, African Manatee, Amazonian Manatee, and the Dugong.  There are many differences between the sirenians and the pinnipeds. Relatives        One of the biggest differences between sirenians and pinnipeds are their relatives, as found in the fossil record.  Manatees are more closely related to elephants and hyraxes, and like those two animals are herbivores (they primarily eat plants).  They are from the clade "Afrotheria" comprised of animals of an African origin.  Pinnipeds, on the other hand, are their own clade and are closely related to Carnivores (primarily meat eaters), such as dogs and cats.     From paper " Convergent Evolution
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Harbor Seal Whisker Update

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A few months ago, I published a post about how Harbor Seals use their vibrasse (whiskers) to find delicious and nutritious fibsh .  One of the things that I read about Harbor Seal vibrasse was that they are wavy.  After looking over photos from a recent trip to the Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut, I noticed that in one of the photos you can see the wavyness of their vibrasse: Closeup of a Harbor Seal's wavy vibrasse, with arrows pointing to some of the more noticeable wavy whiskers. Original photo of a Harbor Seal snooter. From my post linked to above, showing different pinniped vibrasse samples.  Note that the Harbor Seal vibrasse are wavy. I am not sure exactly why the vibrasse are wavy.  I have read that the wavyness may help Harbor Seals find fibsh by reducing unnecessary vibrations while they swim through the water.  I have also read that this has not yet been totally proven. Perhaps I should ask Harry the Harbor Seal
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What Are the Differences Between a Northern and Southern Elephant Seal?

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Minazo, possibly the only Southern Elephant Seal to both be a meme ( "lolrus" ) and have a "Japanese Noise" album dedicated to him. Photo from his Japanese Wikipedia page . I've always wondered what the differences are between the Northern and Southern Elephant Seals. At first I thought that both types of seals were generally the same except for what part of the world they lived in.  Northern Elephant Seals live in the Northern Hemisphere, and Southern Elephant Seals live in the Southern Hemisphere.  But when I did more research, I found that there are a few other differences than just what part of the world they live in. Elephant Seals are bigger than you might think.  This is a still from a good BBC segment on Elephant Seals One big difference between the two types of Elephant Seals is the size of their noses.  While all male Elephant Seals have big noses compared to other pinnipeds, the Southern Elephant Seal has a bigger nose (40 cm)  than the Northern Ele
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Pinniped Joy on Disney Junior: the Octonauts Get Their Pinniped Science Correct!

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The Octonauts is the most amazing marine life show ever!  Some may say it is for little kids, but I strongly disagree.  I think that the marine science is of such high quality that it is educational for people of all ages.  And fun and cute, too.  Right now, it is shown on Netflix.  It is a show where a group of ocean-loving animals "Explore! Rescue Protect!" marine life, with a strong science background. I always look forward to the Pinniped episodes.  For example, consider the quality science presented in Octonauts' Season 3 Episode 10 "Octonauts & the Harbor Seal." In this episode, Peso (the penguin Paramedic of the Octonauts) has to find "Nora the Remora" who had accidentally attached herself to a sailfish - don't ask, just accept. However, the Octonauts have no clues as to where Nora has gone. Captain Barnacles (the polar bear Captain of the Octonauts) knows that with so few clues there is only one animal too help. In a plot twist
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