Antarctic fur seals or Acrtocephalus gazella hang out in intense cold around islands in the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans near Antarctica. Simlar to other pinnipeds, Antarctic fur seals possess an intense sexual dimorphism in size between males and females. According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, males are 1.5 times longer and weigh four… [read more]
Anatomical Dissection: marine mammal anatomy 101
If you spend a lot of time wondering where exactly each organ is located in a marine mammal, then the article on anatomical dissection in the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals is for you! Authors John Reynolds and Sentiel Rommel painstakingly detail every organ location, anatomical nuance and unusual characteristic known to man by describing and… [read more]
Ambergris: sperm whale intestinal goodies
Ambergris sounds like a word for a fancy French wine or dessert, but it’s actually the name for a blob of stuff that forms in the sperm whale’s large intestine or rectum. According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammal’s article authored by Dale Rice, ambergris is actually an Old French word meaning “gray amber.” Apparently,… [read more]
Amazon River Dolphin: the pink dolphin
The Amazon River dolphin or Inia geoffrensisis is known locally in Brazil as boto or botovermelho. Vera da Silva, author of the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals’ article, seems to prefer this name. Throughout the article the dolphin is referred to as “the boto.” Good nicknames for the boto could be Pepto Bismo or the Mary Kay crusader… [read more]
Albino Marine Mammals: the ghosts of the sea
According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, albinos have been spotted in 28 species of marine mammals. This number breaks down to 21 cetaceans and seven pinnipeds with albinos among their ranks. Albinos are most well known for their white or very pale coloring and pink eyes or at least that’s what I thought. But according… [read more]
Aggressive Behavior in Marine Mammals: can’t we all just get along
Reading the article on aggressive behavior in the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals is a serious downer. Don’t get me wrong, most of the information is standard wild animal behavior, which the author, Claudio Campagna, nicely summarizes in the introduction. “Aggressive or agonistic behaviors represent a conglomerate of social responses, including male disputes over territorial boundaries, female fights to protect… [read more]
Age Estimation in Marine Mammals: the answer lies in a dolphin’s smile
Ah, the question we all wonder at one time or another. How old or how young is a certain person? Humans are tricky subjects for age guessing depending on race, sun exposure, dyed hair, plastic surgery and general health upkeep. Unless you are willing to just ask and make it easy; assuming whoever it is tells you… [read more]
The Vaquita Porpoise: the most endangered marine mammal in the world
In the Gulf of California, the body of water between Mexico’s mainland and the Baja California Peninsula, exists the Vaquita. Now what is the Vaquita you ask? Depending on your persuasions the name brings to mind different things. Possibly it’s a fancy cocktail drink that clubbers order, “I’ll take another Vaquita on the rocks please.”… [read more]
Aerial Behavior of Marine Mammals: breaching whales and leaping dolphins
Whale watching is thrilling, a mini-adventure where you get to experience the open ocean, feel the wind on your face and on a very good day, see whales and dolphins perform astonishing aerial behavior such as breaching and leaping. Breaching is when a whale leaps out of the water giving whale watchers the show of a lifetime,… [read more]
Abundance Estimations for Marine Mammals: nailing the numbers
After reading about abundance estimation, I have a new found respect for the population estimates of marine mammals… the all important numbers that tell us how certain species are doing and whether they are recovering or declining. These seemingly plain numbers fail to convey the detailed back story involved for each total. Counting animals who… [read more]