Leopard Seal Research Paper

A Review of “The Devil and Deep Blue Sea” by Linda Pannozzo Introduction In her book The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: An Investigation into the Scapegoating of Canada’s Grey Seal, Linda Pannozzo accomplishes few important things: she makes a compelling argument for the senseless killing of grey seal; she provides an analytic framework for the reasons of the decline of cod fish; and she provides a wealth of information on the politic behind scapegoating of Canada’s grey seal. Pannozzo presents The Devil and Deep Blue Sea in a clear and unbiased matter, but its presentation is by no mean elementary. Pannozzo’s book is meticulously researched, thus providing us with both quantitative and statistical account surrounding seal ways of life, their diet, history and other necessary aspects of marine life ecosystem. Book Summary

The leopard seal is one of six species of seals in the Antarctic. They can get up to 1230 pounds and fall anywhere between eight and twelve feet long. These large muscular animals have dark grey backs, and spots scattered among their light grey stomachs and throat. They get their name, “leopard seal”, from their impressively long sharp carnivore like teeth. Although their front teeth are sharp, their back teeth lock together to help them catch krill. Their appetite mainly consists of penguins, fish, squid, and krill, though they will prey on other seals. Although the leopard seal is considered the most ferocious seal in Antarctica, they will play with the penguins in a friendly manner. When they are not playing with the penguin they will grab

Unfortunately, they don't have a lot to defend themselves from with the tail being the only thing useful, but luckily, they don't have a lot of predators. The biggest predator is humans actually due to the fact that some people hunt them and that some boaters hit them with their

The most important thing to a harbor seals survival is its habitat, which determines shelter, adaptations, evolution, and the type of food available. Harbor seals live in shallow waters of coastal areas, sandy beaches, rocky islands, mudflats, and bays.

Orcas have the most diverse diet of all the marine mammals. Some specimens of orcas prefer different types of marine mammals or marine life. They will mostly eat fish and squid, but will devour almost any marine animal in site. They tend to eat a wide array of fish from salmon, hering, halibut, and cod. One Orcas was found to have a harbor seal, a stellar sea lion, and a harbor porpoise in its stomach. Another orca was found to have the remains of 32 adult harbor seals in its belly (Martin.) The orca has been observed to eat river otters, squid, and

Arctic ice caps are melting, causing many animals to find either a new habitat or new food, which are both extremely challenging. For example, in Document A, sea lions

The Phocidae family consists of 29 existing species of earless seal that have been left from the initial 40. Out of this moderately sized group, we will be looking at the Hawaiian monk seal, Southern elephant seal, and the Crabeater seal.

Since seals are mammals and must breathe, they scratch a number of holes through the ice as it begins to freeze and periodically return to them for air.

Every year in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, three Canadian seal populations are opened for commercial hunting. Since the 1750s, hooded seals, grey seals and iconic harp seals have been hunted for their valuable pelts and omega-3 rich oil. After being nearly hunted to extinction in the 1800s and a period of extensive anti-hunt activism in the 1960s and 70s, the hunt has become strictly regulated. Now, activism has forced the Atlantic Seal Hunt to support and maintain standards of sustainable resource harvesting and humaneness, and this hunt now has the potential to be a role model in these areas for other similar hunts worldwide.

Due to misinformation, some believe that the monk seal’s primary diet is commercial fish, and competes with local fishers by eating its weight in fish in a single day— this is patently untrue, as no large mammal would be able to consume that much food in a single day. Some believe that the seals were brought in by the federal government and are not actually endemic to Hawaii. While it’s true that the main population of monk seals have existed in the Northwest Hawaiian islands (NWHI), there is archaeological evidence from before the 19th century that the seals coexisted with humans in the MHI (Watson et al). Since they are also a relatively rare species, their cultural prevalence has not been as strong as some species (i.e., sea turtles). The use of historical Hawaiian newspapers, as well as research into Hawaiian etymology, as well as archaeological and anthropological investigations can help add to our knowledge base (Watson et al). NOAA’s Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center, and the Marine Conservation Institute are doing much to dispel these myths by providing informational websites to the

The Hawaiian Monk seal is a greatly endangered marine species. These adorable creatures are being used for human goods such as their skin, meat, and oils. Not only this, but predators like Sharks and poisoning have also killed off the breed. Today in 2017, only about 1,100-1,400 are fighting for their lives. Since these beautiful creature, live on a touristy island, it is common for humans to be one of the biggest threats. Humans can throw litter and plastic into the water just to watch these animals suffer. Their own kind have also been a rising cause of these animals decreasing population by the males killing the females in group attacking called “mobbing”. These creatures are supposed to live anywhere

The population decline in monk seals is due to several different factors with the biggest reason due to the low pup and juvenile survival rates (Curtice et al, 2011). At the Kure Atoll on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 32 pups were observed in 1964 and 30 pups were observed in 1965. Of these pups born, all but one died or disappeared within 60 days after birth. This was also seen in the 1970’s at Green Island and Kure Atoll, where a mean population of 17 and 14 seals, respectively, was counted on these beaches, with a birth total of 10 showing a population decline of 70% (Gilmartin et al, 2011). The juvenile survival rate is still seen today with one in five monk seals surviving to the reproductive age, with one year old seals having the highest mortality rates (Norris et al, 2011).

They weigh about 300 pounds and males quiet larger than females, They come in various colors example, gray, white, yellow and many more. Harbor seals eat fish, and their blubber helps to keep them warm. Their skin is made for them to swim vividly in the water.

The negative human impacts on harbor seals are devastating, and there are yet to be any major positive impacts. In the 1900s, fur traders would hunt harbor seal pups that were less than four weeks old for their fine coats, which were highly valued. This led to a decrease in the harbor seal population. Harbor seals were also hunted by salmon fishermen who saw the seals as competitors for the fish. After a while many harbor seal populations had to abandon traditional haul-out areas. This was sad for the seals, because the main diet of a harbor seal is fish.

The polar bear lives up in the Arctic region where global warming and climate change are melting the ice caps that the bears thrive on. They use the ice as a platform from hunting and rest. The random pocket holes in the ice, where the seals pop up at, is where the polar bear catches its prey. With this reduction of ice, “the abundance of seals, and increases the amount of energy and time needed for hunting, leaving less energy for reproduction” (Endangered Species and Habitats).