Thursday, January 23, 2014

Penguins--Slip, Slap, And Slide


Funny Penguin Videos
&
How Much Do You Know
About Penguins?

 

 How many different kinds of penguins are there?

1 kind? 16 different kinds? 

Find the answer here:  www.penguinworld.com

 


  Do all penguins live on ice?

Find the answer here:  Discovery Kids


  

 What is the smallest penguin in the world?

Find the answer here:  Sea*Thos Foundation

 

What is the biggest penguin in the world?

Find the answer here:  National Geographic

But here's the biggest penguin ever:



Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Another Otter Cuteness Alert

Meet "Otter 649"  

Otter 649. MBA Photo



This 12-1/2-week-old male sea otter pup was rescued in November 2014.  He was just three-weeks-old and quite ill.  But Otter 649 is healthy now and lives at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, CA.

He doesn't have a real name yet.  He's called Otter 649 because he is the 649th stranded otter rescued  since 1984. *

The little guy can't return to the wild because he has had too much contact with humans.  

Here's the aquarium's sea otter live web cam:  Sea Otter Web Cam


* Otter 649 number comes from being the 649th stranded otter to be brought into Sea Otter Research and Conservation program .

Friday, January 10, 2014

Elephant Seal Pups Steal the Show

January 2014
Piedras Blancas Northern Elephant Seal Rookery
Central Coast of California

It's birthing time for the northern elephant seals.

Pregnant mothers make a 2500 mile swim to this beach so that they can give safe birth to their pup.
This pregnant female just arrived or "hauled out"


Each mother gives birth to just one pup. The pup weighs about 60 or 80 pounds at birth.
Pups are born with soft, black fur.
Mother northern elephant seals provide some of the richest milk around for their pups.  The pup must gain about 10 pounds each day for four weeks.
Pups gain 10 pounds a day from Mom's milk!
See how much this pup grew in just a few weeks!
This fella hasn't missed a meal in about 3-weeks.
The mothers and pups live in a "harem" -- or with 20-40 other females and pups and one big adult male.
See the big male on the right side.
The adult male is about the size of a small pickup truck.  He spends most of his time foraging near the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.  But now he'll spend about 90 days with the females and pups.
The big male vocalizing

Can you tell the difference between the male, female & pup?.


Are Orcas Too Smart for Captivity?

There is a bunch of talk recently about keeping orcas (killer whales) in captivity at popular places like Sea World. 

We know that orcas are pretty darn smart and that they can learn "tricks" and "stunts" that entertain us.  But are they miserable when captive for live?

Here's an interesting explanation of recent research that seems to say that orcas would prefer life at sea.


What do you think?