seals

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Whale-Watchers Spot Seal in Humpback's Mouth

Seemingly bewildered animal soon swam out

(Newser) - It's a good thing seals aren't on a humpback whale's menu. A photograph by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal accidentally gulped it last Thursday in the waters off Anacortes, Washington, the AP...

Bird Flu Continues to Wreak Havoc, Killing Seals Worldwide

Tens of thousands of seals, sea lions have died, and scientists aren't sure how to slow the spread

(Newser) - Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus . The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of...

'Hundreds' of Dead Seals Block Antarctic Explorer's Grave

Virus has taken a heavy toll on South Georgia's wildlife

(Newser) - Passengers who'd hoped to walk with penguins on a cruise around the Antarctic Peninsula and the island of South Georgia weren't allowed to go ashore, but they witnessed distressing scenes of animals that had been killed by a bird flu outbreak in the region. Passenger Astrid Saunders tells...

Hundreds of Animal Species Hit by 'Catastrophic' Flu Strain

Elephant seals, seabirds, and now a polar bear—could humans be hit hard next with H5N1?

(Newser) - "It is catastrophic ... the largest die-off for the species, period." That's how Martin Mendez, a marine biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, describes to the Washington Post the fate of hundreds of elephant seals last fall in Argentina, found dead along the shore of the Valdes Peninsula....

Reward Offered After 'Hateful Act' Involving Young Seal

Endangered Hawaiian monk seal Malama was found dead of blunt-force trauma on Oahu

(Newser) - An endangered Hawaiian monk seal rescued as a severely malnourished pup was released back into the wild and subsequently killed by a human, officials say. The female juvenile known as Malama, officially dubbed RQ76, was found dead on Oahu's Ohikilolo Beach on March 12, just two months after her...

A Fugitive Seal Turns Himself In to Cops

Shoebert eluded capture, then showed up at police station in Beverly, Massachusetts

(Newser) - A gray seal that wandered into a Massachusetts pond and evaded authorities’ attempts to capture him turned himself after waddling up to the local police station, per the AP . The gray seal first appeared earlier this month in Shoe Pond in the city of Beverly, northeast of Boston. The animal...

Seal Breaks Into Marine Biologist's Home

'Missed my time to shine,' says New Zealand's Phil Ross, who wasn't home at time of break-in

(Newser) - Phil Ross loves the sea—so much so that he became a marine biologist and moved into a home just 500 feet from the shoreline. That proximity to the ocean brought the New Zealander and his family a surprise visitor on Wednesday morning, when a juvenile fur seal slipped inside...

Protective Monk Seal Attacks Swimmer Who Got Too Close

The 60-year-old woman suffered lacerations to her face, arm, and back

(Newser) - A swimmer at a beach in Waikiki was injured this weekend after encountering an endangered Hawaiian monk seal known as Rocky and her young pup. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement that the victim is a 60-year-old elementary school teacher from California. A witness...

Mystery of Seal Strandings May Be Solved

Tests confirm dead seals in Maine had avian flu

(Newser) - The avian flu epidemic appears to have claimed its first known marine mammal victims in North America. The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed four Maine seals who died or had to be euthanized tested positive for the virus, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday. Officials tested the...

'Oh, Welcome Little Thing': Rare Birth Captured in Hawaii

There are only 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals in the world

(Newser) - Images of a Hawaiian monk seal being born on an Oahu beach have been captured on camera—a fact made more notable because it's an endangered species. An employee of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources shot video and photos of the pup emerging from the mother...

In This Long Island Town, an 'Unusual 911 Call'

Police help rescue baby seal from Southampton traffic circle

(Newser) - Police in an East End town on Long Island received what LongIsland.com deems a most "unusual 911 call" over the weekend. Sgt. Jim Cavanagh of the Southampton Town Police Department tells CNN a seal was spotted on Sunday by residents, sliding through a parking lot in the hamlet...

Sharks Have a Surprise New Predator
Sharks Have a
Surprise New Predator
in case you missed it
Dec 19, 2021 12:30 PM CST

Sharks Have a Surprise New Predator

Study suggests that leopard seals hunt and eat them

(Newser) - The list of known shark predators is not long, but it just grew by one: Researchers say that, much to their surprise, leopard seals make the cut. They found shark remains in the seals' scat, as well as physical evidence of shark confrontations on seals' bodies, the researchers write in...

Honeymooner Touched a Seal. Then Came the Death Threats

Louisiana woman fined $500 in Hawaii

(Newser) - A woman from Louisiana who was honeymooning in Hawaii has been fined $500 after a social media video showed her touching an endangered Hawaiian monk seal, US authorities said, per the AP . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched an investigation last month and found the woman violated the Endangered...

You've Likely Never Heard Seals Quite Like This

Language researchers teach them to mimic 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'

(Newser) - Sure, it's a goofy animal video , but it's Friday and it's in the name of science, so enjoy. Researchers from Scotland's University of St. Andrews trained gray seals to copy the sounds of human words and songs, including "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." It wasn'...

Tale of USB Stick in Seal Poop Gets Weirder

Owner is found, describes 'weirdest set of coincidences'

(Newser) - "This is probably the weirdest set of coincidences in my life—ever," says the owner of a USB stick found in a lump of frozen seal poop . Here's how it unfolds: In December 2017, sea lion volunteer Amanda Nally found an ailing sea lion on a beach...

Memory Stick Full of Photos Found in Frozen Seal Poo

NZ researchers now trying to find owner

(Newser) - Wildlife researchers in New Zealand found a surprisingly resilient memory stick in a surprising place: a 14-month-old lump of frozen seal feces. The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research says the fully functioning USB stick is in "good condition considering where it came from" and contains somebody's...

A Wiggly New Problem for Endangered Seals

Juvenile Hawaiian monk seals spotted with eels in their noses

(Newser) - Endangered Hawaiian monk seals have enough to contend with —sharks, habitat loss, limited prey, nets —without eels wiggling in their noses. Yet NOAA researchers are noting just how much trouble an eel in the nose can cause after sharing a photo of an afflicted seal looking rather uncomfortable...

Sign of 'What the Future Could Look Like' in Remote Hawaii
Sign of 'What the Future Could
Look Like' in Remote Hawaii
in case you missed it
Oct 28, 2018 7:31 AM CDT

Sign of 'What the Future Could Look Like' in Remote Hawaii

East Island disappears beneath Pacific waves

(Newser) - Hawaii might've grown a peninsula this year, but it's now lost a whole 11-acre island, and perhaps endangered seals and turtles along with it. East Island, the second-largest islet in the French Frigate Shoals atoll, a few hundred miles northwest of the Hawaiian island chain, has disappeared since...

141 Carcasses Found Along World's Deepest Lake

The dead seals started appearing last weekend

(Newser) - Russian authorities are investigating whether 141 Baikal earless seals starved to death after their carcasses washed up in Siberia on the shoreline of the world's deepest lake, officials said Friday. The dead seals started appearing along Lake Baikal last weekend, the Irkutsk region's government said in a statement....

Clever Seal Goes to Desperate Lengths to Dodge Killer Whales

'Most intense epic experience ever': boat owner

(Newser) - Seals are cute, curious, and apparently quite resourceful when they're trying to avoid becoming someone's dinner, per a story out of British Columbia. The CBC reports on the adventures of a survival-minded seal who, desperately trying to escape the clutches of the ravenous orcas pursuing it, hopped aboard...

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