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Ocean Wild Things

Anatomical Dissection: marine mammal anatomy 101

November 19, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

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]

Filed Under: Marine mammals Tagged With: anatomy, cetacean, dolphin, pinniped, porpoise, whale

Albino Marine Mammals: the ghosts of the sea

November 8, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft Leave a Comment

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]

Filed Under: Dolphins, Marine mammals Tagged With: cetacean, dolphin, elephant seal, pinniped, porpoise, sea lion, seal, whale

Age Estimation in Marine Mammals: the answer lies in a dolphin’s smile

November 6, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 3 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Dolphins, Marine mammals, Porpoises, Whales Tagged With: cetacean, dolphin, porpoise, whale

The Vaquita Porpoise: the most endangered marine mammal in the world

November 5, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 3 Comments

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]

Filed Under: Easy Reader columns, Marine mammals, Porpoises Tagged With: cetacean, dorsal fin, endangered, porpoise

Aerial Behavior of Marine Mammals: breaching whales and leaping dolphins

November 4, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

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]

Filed Under: Dolphins, Marine mammals, Whales Tagged With: body language, cetacean, dolphin, porpoise, whale

Abundance Estimations for Marine Mammals: nailing the numbers

November 3, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

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]

Filed Under: Marine mammals Tagged With: cetacean, dolphin, pinniped, porpoise, sea lion, seal, whale

Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals: Blogging from A to Z

November 2, 2009 by Carolyn Kraft 1 Comment

There it is sitting on my desk, all 1,316 pages…the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Now this is no ordinary book, this book explains everything you ever wanted to know about marine mammals and then some. With more than 250 expert scientists and researchers contributing, it is a treasure trove of information. And for marine mammal obsessed people… [read more]

Filed Under: Marine mammals Tagged With: cetacean, dolphin, pinniped, porpoise, sea lion, seal, whale

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