The Hooded Seal Thirty-five species of seal can be found all over the oceans of the world. They are found throughout the marine environment, from icy polar waters of the north and south poles to the warm waters of the tropics. Much like whales and dolphins, seals are adapted to the marine environment with a streamlined body, limbs modified into flippers and a layer of blubber for insulation needed for the seals located in the poles. They also have a specialized circulatory system that allows them to sustain prolonged dives while feeding which I will say more about during the essay. Different seals also have different characteristics, which make them different from other species; one of these is …show more content…
The males show their aggression by inflating the balloon like ball on their face, which can grow to twice the size of a size 5 football. The hood is an enlargement of the nasal cavity, which develops when the seal is in its younger years. When inflated, the hood forms a balloon on the head, when deflated the hood hangs in front of the upper lip. Males also have an inflatable nasal membrane that expands like a red balloon from one nostril. The hood and membrane are mainly used when the seal is fighting for territory and also during fights in the breeding season in order to gather attention of females. The total hooded seal population is currently estimated to be around 650,000.This is a highly migratory species known to wander long distances as far west as Alaska and as far south as the Canary Islands and the Caribbean! Hooded seals are not easily separated into populations, although three groups have been recognized, based on where they breed these are: Off the east coast of Canada in the, in the Gulf of St Lawrence; on the West Ice east of Greenland; and in the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada. Hooded seals share much of their range with harp seals, although they tend to live farther offshore and feed in deeper water. Because of this, the two species only gather together in the same areas during
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 film The Sea Inside shares the heart warming real life story of a man named Ramon Sampedro. At the young age of twenty-six he suffered an accident while diving into shallow waters of the ocean that left him a quadriplegic. Now at the age of fifty-four, Ramon must depend on his family to survive. His older brother Jose, Jose’s wife, Manuela and their son Javi do their best to take care of Ramon and make him feel loved. Although Ramon is extremely grateful to his family and friends for their help all these years, he has come to see his life as aggravating and unsatisfying. He wishes to die with the little dignity he has left in his life. However, Ramon’s family is dead set against the thought of assisted suicide and the
Herman Melville, in his epic novel Moby-Dick, utilizes the symbolism of the color of the Great White Whale to demonstrate his theme of duality. However, Captain Ahab tragically had a single mind set towards Moby Dick, as he believed that the whale was the symbol of the world's evil and had to be destroyed. On the other hand, Ishmael sees that the color white can mean many various and opposing things. It would be dangerous to settle upon any one single meaning. In the chapter, The Whiteness of the Whale, Melville explains the importance of duality of meaning in the world, as opposed to man's (and Ahab's) desire to see only one meaning in any one thing. Melville utilizes the symbol of the
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.
The problem with plastic ending up in the ocean is that marine life is being harmed by the presence of it. A study done on the harbor seals in the Netherlands found that more than 12% had plastic in the digestive system (California Coastal Commission). The list of affected species indicates that marine debris is affecting a significant number of species. It affects at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species, and 43% of all marine mammal species (Save our shores). The problem is underestimated because the marine life that ingests plastic or dies from entanglement often goes undiscovered due to the vastness of the ocean, as they either sink or are eaten by predators before they are discovered (Plastic Debris). The potential harm from ingestion of plastics is not restricted to seabirds. Plastic bags drifting on ocean currents resemble the prey of turtles. There is evidence that their survival is being hindered by plastic debris with young sea turtles being vulnerable (Ocean pollution). Over the past 20 years polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have polluted marine food webs at an increasing rate, and are prevalent in seabirds. Though their adverse effects may not always be apparent, PCBs lead to reproductive disorders, increase the risk of disease and alter hormone levels. These chemicals have a detrimental effect on marine organisms even at very low levels and plastic pellets could be a route for PCBs into marine food
Killer whales are one of the most fascinating displays of ocean life. The killer whale has characteristics that are important to its survival in the ocean. It is interesting to know that killer whales have a plentiful diet. It is astounding to see how killer whales behave in the ocean. I plan to tell you about the killer whale, its characteristics, its diet, and its behavior in the ocean as well as the predation of the orca.
The Narwhal is a whale and is also known as the unicorn of the sea. It is in the family of bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and Belugas (World Wildlife Fund). The scientific name for the Narwhal is Monodon monoceros and it is Greek meaning one-tooth, one-horn. It can grow up to 13-16 feet in length and weighs almost 2 tons (4,000 pounds). The region they are usually located is around the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. They are known as unicorns of the sea because they have a tusk, one of their teeth, coming out of the front of the skull. According to the World Wildlife fund (2014), “Males most commonly have tusks, and some may even have two. The tusk, which can grow as long as 10 feet, is actually an enlarged tooth.” The
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.
One specific hunt those organizations are trying to stop is the Canadian seal hunt or “Canadian seal slaughter” (Harpseals.org, n.d.) which is held between November 15th to May 15th every year in Canada. There are Thirteen species of seals that inhabit the waters of North America but two are mainly hunted, the harp seal and hooded seal, and more specifically baby harp seals between 3 weeks to 3 months, mainly for their pelt which sheds after that. Found Archaeological evidence reveals that the indigenous people of eastern Canada hunted seal for at least 4000 years. when the first Europeans arrived in the early 16th century, they began hunting seals, they began with hunting the walrus which lived along the Gulf of St Lawrence and the north shore
The article I read was about Hawaiian monk seals. Obviously the seals are found in Hawaii. The seals have six main islands in Hawaii where they populate: Kure Atoll, Midway Islands, Pearl and Hermes Reef, Lisianski Island, Laysan Island, and French Frigate Shoals. The Hawaiian monk seals are named the official state mammal of Hawaii. The Hawaiian monk seals have a diet that ranges from fish, squid, octopus, and lobster. The seals hunt mainly at night and during the day they lay on sandy beaches. The mating season for the seals is mainly from December until mid- August. When pup seals are born they are mainly three feet long and weigh about thirty-five pounds. The first month or two the seals stay with their mother so they are able to nurse.
Chesterfield Inlet and Wager Bay are located in northwestern Hudson Bay within the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut (63°20'N 90°40'W and 65°08'N 87°56'W, respectively). The region is best described as continental-arctic with short cool summers and long cold winters with minimal precipitation (Dufresne, 2013). Average summer temperatures can reach up to 20ºC, while average winter temperatures range from -30ºC to -35ºC. Sea ice forms by December and breaks up by mid-June (Dufresne, 2013). However, ice in Wager Bay according to Canadian Parks Service (1977), can last longer than that of Chesterfield Inlet. The average depths encountered during the sampling program at both Wager Bay was 217 m and Chesterfield inlet was 42 m.
The Hawaiian monk seal, or Monachus schauinslandi, was one of the original species to be placed under the Endangered Species Act that was enacted in 1973. As of 2010, the population of the monk seal is approximately 1,100, with an annual decrease of approximately 4.5%. The Hawaiian monk seal is primarily found on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands that are made up of coral reef atolls, seamounts, banks, and shoals. This is due to the fact that the monk seals primarily forage on the barrier reefs of the atolls, on submerged reefs, and on banks further from the atolls (Curtice et al, 2011). The monk seals are primarily benthic forgers and will search for food in a broad depth range up to 500m and over different substrates (National Marine
Jack London’s novel, The Sea-Wolf, has many different interpretations. The story can be read as a combination of the naturalistic novel and the sentimental romance, both very popular around the turn of the century. London also brings into play literary naturalism, in which human beings are characterized as just another species in nature, subject to all of Her cosmic forces. The Sea-Wolf fits almost perfectly the archetypal pattern of an initiation story. Depth and interest are added to The Sea-Wolf by successfully integrating these three elements -- the combination of two popular genres, literary naturalism, and the initiation story.
According to Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, an allegory is described as a fictional literary narrative or artistic expression that conveys a symbolic meaning parallel to but distinct from, and more important than, the literal meaning. This is true in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is an allegory that symbolizes the inherent struggle of humans facing the ideas of sin and redemption. In writing this poem, Coleridge spent four months of sustained writing upon his purpose of supposing that supernatural situations are real. This purpose is seen clearly in "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", which demonstrates
This book really grabbed me right from the beginning of the story. The story begins with the birth of fraternal twins, with the grandfather patiently awaiting the birth of the son. Right away I felt sadness when the mother and one of the twins die. The boy dies and the girl survives. The grandpa seems to not care about the girl who survived . He was longing for his grandson because he is from the Maori tribe and the tribe is waiting for the sign of a new chief to be born . The chief would lead the village and its community to greatness. Many elders have been born but none with the strength to be the next chief. The little girl was named Pai. The grandma of Pai took her home to raise her along with the grandfather. The grandfather showed