The post 3 Things Worth Remembering When Trying to See Beluga Whales in the Wild appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Right Time
If you’re thinking of going whale watching, you’ll have to time your adventure perfectly. Summertime is usually the best time to see belugas in their natural habitat since they have a habit of migrating to shallow coastal waters during the warm summer months.
Right Location
You can’t simply spot beluga whales wherever there is ocean and it’s crucial to be in the right place. Canada is the most popular beluga-watching location in the world, especially Churchill, Manitoba, and Cunningham Inlet, but they can also be spotted in Greenland, Alaska, and Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, especially if you join one of the local whale-watching tours.
Right Equipment
You won’t always be able to spot beluga whales with your bare eyes, so it’s important to bring the right equipment. Bring binoculars or a camera with a long-focus lens if you want to catch a better view, and arm yourself with patience because you’ll have to wait for them to emerge to the surface.
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]]>The post Super Rare Pacific Football Fish Was Found on an Oregon Beach appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>The discovery of the Pacific football fish was shared by Oregon’s Seaside Aquarium on social media. According to the Facebook post, this is the first time that this fish was discovered on Oregon’s coast. Additionally, only 31 specimens have been recorded around the world, including California, New Zealand, Ecuador, and Chile.
“Little is known about their life history but what is known is unusually fascinating,” Seaside Aquarium wrote while attaching several photos of the fish.
Pacific football fish is one of the 300 species of anglerfish. It lives in complete darkness, usually 3,000 feet below sea level. They are known for their dorsal fin, which has a phosphorescent bulb on top. This bulb lights up thanks to photobacteria that inhabit it and serves as a method of attracting prey.
The food is scarce in the deep sea, making the function of the phosphorescent bulb even more important. Additionally, Pacific football fish isn’t a picky eater and will eat anything that can fit into its mouth, including crustaceans, other fish, and squid.
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]]>The post Watch a Rescue Mission of a Seal Stuck Between Rocks appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Seacoast Science Center recently shared the video of this successful rescue mission on their social media. In the clip, a seal can be seen being trapped between giant boulders and crying for help while rescuers try out different methods to pull her out.
Being scared, the seal “defended” herself from humans by trying to bite them. However, this didn’t discourage rescuers, who managed to get a blanket underneath her after some back and forth and successfully pull her out.
“She was brought back to SSC and given time to rest and de-stress. She then received an exam, blood work, oral and subcutaneous fluid therapy with electrolytes, and a hind flipper tag for ID. Overall, she was in good health and it was determined the best course of action was to release her,” Seacoast Science Center shared in the caption of the video.
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]]>The post 3 Useful Tips for Avoiding Jellyfish Stings appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Location & Timing
Jellyfish stings can come as a surprise, but they’re often easy to anticipate. Before booking a vacation, make sure to do your research and check if jellyfish encounters are common in that area. The easiest way to avoid the stings is not to swim or dive in areas with high jellyfish populations during the peak season.
Staying Vigilant
It’s always a good idea to stay alert when visiting areas with occasional jellyfish sightings. If you notice jellyfish washed ashore, don’t touch them out of curiosity, and keep an eye out for them in the water while swimming and diving, especially if you’re not wearing a protective suit and footwear.
Know First Aid
It’s also a good idea to familiarize yourself with first aid basics when vacationing in jellyfish-infested areas. The first step you should take is to remove the remaining tentacles before rinsing the skin with seawater or vinegar. Soaking the area with warm water afterward can help release the toxins, but you should consider seeking medical assistance if the pain persists.
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]]>The post Khanh Mai is Celebrating the Marine World Through Her Enamel Pins appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Mai is a designer who draws inspiration from nature, dreams, personal experiences, mythology, and nostalgia, and the name behind her brand is quite symbolic. She named Alum and Ink after her childhood dogs, the two well-loved mutts who lived as free-spirits and spent their dog days romping about in the woods and farm.
In addition to inspiring the name of her brand, animals are often the driving force behind her work. She makes prints, postcards, stickers, buttons, enamel pins, charms, patches, and more taking care of all sorts of different fascinating animals, but ocean dwellers certainly hold a special place in her heart.
Many of Mai’s signature pins take the shape of the marine animals we all know and love, from dolphins and narwhals to octopuses and sharks. Whales, however, are clearly her favorite, and we’ve seen her pay homage to several different species over the years, putting a whimsical and dreamy twist on the ocean’s gentle giants.
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]]>The post 5 Sea-lly Facts That Will Make You Fall in Love with Seals appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Pinniped Mammals
Seals belong to the group of marine mammals known as “pinnipeds”, along with sea lions. They’re distantly related to raccoons, skunks, and even red pandas.
Sleeping in the Water
Seals aren’t extremely picky when it comes to finding a perfect sleeping spot. They have a habit of sleeping in unusual places, including underwater, but with half of their brain awake so they can escape predators.
No Earless Seals
Earless seals, also known as true seals, are one of the most notable seal species. Despite what their name might suggest, they actually have ears, but it’s impossible to see them because they’re covered beneath their skin.
Holding Their Breath
Seals are also excellent divers, mostly because they can spend long periods underwater since they can hold their breath for up to two hours.
Vocal Animals
Despite being able to spend a lot of time holding their breath, seals are usually pretty chatty creatures. They use an impressive set of vocalizations to communicate, especially mothers and cubs, who can recognize each other’s voice even years later.
Van Isle 
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]]>The post Extinct Marine Creatures Live On Through Kelly O’Dell’s Glass Art appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>O’Dell spent most of her life in Hawai’i, and her upbringing on this island inspired her journey as an artist for the decades to come. She fell in love with glass art during her time at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, where she also explored her interest in oceanography, astronomy, and math.
Her glass art explores the human impact on the natural world by examining species extinction and conservation. She puts an emphasis on ammonites, cephalopods reminiscent of today’s living coleoids, that often have spiraled, shell-like shapes that she enjoys mimicking through her art.
O’Dell decided to focus on extinct species for a reason, and she sees her glass sculptures as a reminder of what we leave behind once we’re gone.
“Coming from a place where active volcanoes constantly rumbled and gurgled, I grew up obsessed with my own mortality. Through sculpture, my work explores themes of ‘memento mori’, as well as extinction, preservation, and origin,” she explains on her official website.
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]]>The post Janie Groeling Will Make You Wish You Had a Hermit Crab as a Pet appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Groeling is a Virginia Tech alum based in New Jersey, who describes herself as a hermit crab mom and bug lover. She attracted thousands of followers to her TikTok and Instagram after she started sharing snippets from her life with her crab pets, including Norton and Tito.
Groeling is using her platform to educate, inspire, and foster a community of hermit crab lovers. You’ll find many hermit crab resources on her Instagram page, providing essential information about basic necessities and care guidelines for new crab owners.
Groeling often holds her hermies in her hands and she makes it look easy, but she’s only able to do this because they built trust over a multitude of years.
“They don’t feel threatened, they know they are safe, they know who I am. I would never hold a hermit crab that is scared/unfamiliar with me. Only when one that trusts me is out and about, I will gently pick up, or they will crawl right onto my hand!” she explains on Instagram.
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]]>The post 5 Most-Googled Shark Questions Answered appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>Are Sharks Mammals?
Since the ocean’s gentle giants, whales, happen to be marine mammals, many people believe it’s the same with sharks, but that’s not the case. They’re classified as fish and don’t share many characteristics with mammals.
Do Sharks Sleep?
Many believe that sharks can’t sleep because they have to keep swimming to stay alive. This is a common misconception, and some species of sharks can have short periods of rest, but they’re nothing alike human sleep.
Can Sharks Smell Blood?
Many people fear sharks because they believe they can smell blood from miles away. This is an exaggeration, but sharks do have a very strong sense of smell.
Do Sharks Have Bones?
Unlike most other fish species, sharks do not have bones. Their skeletons are made of cartilage, a connective tissue found in the human ear and nose.
Do Sharks Lay Eggs?
When it comes to laying eggs, the answer is both “yes” and “no” when it comes to sharks. Some species give birth to live young, but about 40% of them are oviparous and lay eggs.
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]]>The post Scientists Discover New Sea Creatures Off the Coast of Chile appeared first on penguinmd.
]]>The “walking” fish, most likely a member of the sea toad family, received this nickname because it uses its fins to walk on the sea floor. Its other features include “googly” eyes and skin that resembles crochet. Additionally, most of its body is covered with thin needles, which experts say serve as a defense against predators.
“The sea toad has modified fins that allow it to walk on the seafloor—partly a hunting strategy and partly because it’s more energy efficient than swimming,” Javier Sellanes, a marine biologist at the Catholic University of the North in Chile, told National Geographic.
As part of their research, the Schmidt Ocean Institute team mapped four seamounts, also known as underwater mounts, for the first time. According to experts, the “unique nature of the topography of the seamounts” has led to the development of species that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Schmidt Ocean Institute live-streamed the expedition, which included a 5,000-feet dive from a robotic underwater vehicle, on YouTube. Check out the footage below and see which other amazing sea creatures live in the region.
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