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Ocean Wild Things

Introducing the sea hare

April 21, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

The sea hare is not a rabbit, not even close, it’s actually a sea slug. But thanks to two tentacle-like extensions on the top of its head that stick up like rabbit ears, it was dubbed the sea hare. This photo features the California brown sea hare or Aplysia californica. Up-close, sea hares look like… [read more]

Filed Under: Marine snails, slugs, worms Tagged With: sea slugs

Sperm whale gets the fish

April 20, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

This is one of my favorite whale videos. I first had the chance to see this video during movie night at the Society for Marine Mammalogy Conference in Quebec City. Someone recently posted it to YouTube, so I can finally share it. (Thanks to Cheryl McCormick, Executive Director of the American Cetacean Society for posting… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: cetacean, echolocation, whale, whale watching

Cool footage of California spiny lobsters

April 18, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

Here’s a fun YouTube video that shows California spiny lobsters in their natural environment. If you click play, you will have the chance to see them hanging out together in rock crevices and dens, peeping out at the diver filming the video. For some reason, watching spiny lobsters scurry along the rocks in this video… [read more]

Filed Under: Lobster, shrimp, crab(s) Tagged With: crustacean

The mantis shrimp’s tail

April 14, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

The mantis shrimp at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium finally let me take a photo of his tail, but barely. I’m telling you that is one smart critter. He saw me watching him on one side of the tank, so he moved to the other side. Then when I moved to the other side, he had enough… [read more]

Filed Under: Lobster, shrimp, crab(s) Tagged With: crustacean

What happens if a lobster loses a leg?

April 13, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

About a month ago, my favorite California spiny lobster at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium lost a leg. Early one morning, I went to stare at Tank (my nickname for the massive 14 pound male lobster at Cabrillo) when I realized something was awry. There was a gaping hole where one of his legs should be! Then… [read more]

Filed Under: Lobster, shrimp, crab(s) Tagged With: crustacean, regeneration

Sea elephant

April 11, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

Well, it turns out there is a common name for the gnarly marine snail featured in my last post. It’s called a sea elephant. So I stand corrected. There is a common name for Carinaria japonica, not necessarily one that makes any sense, but a common name all the same. Revealing the common name is… [read more]

Filed Under: Marine snails, slugs, worms Tagged With: sea snails

A gnarly marine snail

April 7, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 2 Comments

There is a whole class of ocean animals that I haven’t even touched upon yet, well actually there are probably a many classes of animals I haven’t touched upon yet, and one of those is the Class Gastropoda (within Phylum Mollusca), which includes sea snails and slugs. Well, this week at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, a… [read more]

Filed Under: Marine snails, slugs, worms Tagged With: sea snails

Amazing photos of a gray whale floating on its back

April 3, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

A gray whale floating on its back, simply amazing! Henry Jurgens, a volunteer naturalist with the Cabrillo Whalewatch Program, took these photos on a whale watching trip last week. He was aboard the Spirit, a whale watching boat based in San Pedro, accompanied by a school group from Los Angeles’ inner city. (Even though downtown… [read more]

Filed Under: Whales Tagged With: cetacean, gray whale, whale, whale watching

List of baleen whales

March 30, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 12 Comments

I received a website request for the names of five baleen whales, most likely for a school project. Then I realized, I’ve probably never listed all the baleen whales! Then I started flipping through all my whale books and wouldn’t you know it, every list is slightly different. So I decided to stick with the… [read more]

Filed Under: Front, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, whale

Pelicans flying in formation

March 26, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 11 Comments

On a recent visit to the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, I had the chance to witness California brown pelicans flying in formation. Now just to be clear, I’ve seen pelicans fly in a V shaped formation before, but this was different. Usually, pelicans fly by in a V shaped formation, everyone exclaims, “Oh, look! The… [read more]

Filed Under: Birds Tagged With: bird, pelican

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