Tag: sea

Humpback whale

Humpback whale

The humpback whale is a widely recognized species. Weighing around 40 tonnes, and measuring 14-17m. It is known for its habit of breaching (as above) which can be heard from miles away, and its incredibly complex song, which can last between 4 minutes and 33.

Their low sounds can be heard by whales 1000 miles away, and have been picked up by electronic sources far further away than that.

Whaling did horrific damage to this species, with their population falling to just 5000 in the 1960s. Thankfully, having been protected, the population is now around 135,000. Subspecies are more varied, with those in the northern hemisphere less secure. The least secure is the Arabian sea population, which is thought to be isolated for 70,000 years and there are only 80 that remain.

Threats to individual whales include entanglement in fishing gear, ocean noise and collisions with ships.

They are known to have hunting methods more complex than most baleen whales, including bubble netting which forces the fish into tighter shoals to then be taken in one mouthful.

Young are predated by orca in some parts of the world, and many carry scars from these encounters to the end of their lives.

 

Bowhead whale

Bowhead whale

Also known as Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, steeple-top, and polar whale, they are closely related to the right whales, the bowhead whale looks quite different. It is in a different genus to the other right whales (so is a more distant relation.

The only whale that is endemic to the Arctic and sub-arctic, its mouth is a third of the size of the body. They are incredible long lived often living to 200 years old. They have incredibly thick skulls, which allows them to use their heads to break through the arctic ice.

Unfortunately, they were an early target of whalers, and so in 1966 hunting of them was banned. They have recovered to the point where out of the 5 subpopulations, 3 are endangered, one is vulnerable and the last one currently classed as low risk. Another unfortunate effect of whaling, was to put an end to the summer habits of the bowhead whale – before whaling, it appears that different whale populations would cross seas during the summer, and interbreed.

  1. The Western Arctic stock in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas estimated at 12,500 (though with 95% confidence range 8000-19500         
  2. The Hudson Bay and Foxe Basin stock estimated at 345 with a high confidence
  3. the Baffin Bay and Davis Strait stock which is estimated at over 1000 individuals
  4. the Sea of Okhotsk stock contains only 100-200
  5.  The Svalbard-Barents Sea stock was hunted to near extinction. As such while I cannot find a number, it is unlikely to have a large population

Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises family tree

Cetaceans -Whales, porpoise and dolphins

Few people can avoid stopping to watch, if they spot cetaceans from a cliff. While the family is wide and varied, they are all pretty interesting. From some of the largest and most intelligent hunters such as killer whales to the largest animal on earth the blue whale.

Whale and dolphin watching tourism is worth a lot of money – this can be essential, as in many places the extra money helps a community survive. 

I hope, overtime, to make this section of the website as large a list of places to view cetaceans and people who will help you in that quest.

As might perhaps be suspected, all of the mammal species which have returned permanently to the sea, and developed breathing holes located on their back (and therefore perfectly placed for taking quick breaths) are  related.

So what is the most closely related living land mammal? Perhaps obviously, it is a species which spends much time in the water – the hippopotamus.

As with all of these pages, as we create pages for each individual species, they will be linked to the photo below.

So the baleen whales are split into three families, these are not large as there are only 16 species of baleen whales in the world. At the current time, there are roughly 1.1 million baleen whales in the worlds oceans

Below is a family tree of the group

 

Baleen Whales

Baleenideae – the rhight whales

 

The first  living split is Baleenidae, this family is not huge. The north atlantic and north pacific are closest related, these species are closely related to the Southern pacific right whales. Their name is unfortunate – it is called right whale for 3 reasons, it swims slowly, floats when dead and carries a large amount of oil. This lead to all these species being hunted close to extinction.

North Atlantic right whale
North pacific right whale
Southern right whale
Bowhead whale

The other family is called Balaenopteroidea. Here species peel off slowly. I will list them in the order that they split.

The first split is the minke whale – of which there are 2 species, the common and southern minke whale, with the grey whale being the next most similar.

Brydes whale
Antarctic (Southern) Minke Whale
Grey whale
Common minke whale
Sei whale mother and calf Christin Khan NOAA

The next are the humpback whale and the fin whale followed by the Blue whale.

Underwater humpback whale jd forester
fin whale by Amila Tennakoon
Blue whale, taken by Australian Antarctic program

The last group of whales are from a group called the Brydes whales complex

Brydes whale
Edens whale
Omuras whale
Rice whale
Sei whale mother and calf Christin Khan NOAA

This completes the list of baleen whales. The other branch of the Cetaceans is known as the toothed whales

Toothed Whale

.I am going to look at them in 3 groups, though the third is not particularly closely related to each other

  • Delphinoidea: This includes
    • Monodontidaes – Belugas and narwhals
    • Phocoenidae – The family of Porpoises (7 species) such as harbour porpoises and Vanquita

 

bermeister porpoises
dalls porpoise Susan E Adams
Harbour Porpoise
Indo pacific (or east Asian) finless porpoise
Spectacled porpoise
Vaquita (Paula Olson NOAA)
Narrow Ridged finless porpoise (Yangtze finless porpoise by huangdan2060)
    • Delphininidae – these are the oceanic dolphins – 37 species split into several subfamilies which we will deal with one by one.
Subfamily Delphininae – 15 species (tamanend bottle nose dolphin only recognized as separate species, will build page for it at some point when photos are readily available.

Subfamily  Globcephalinae 11 species

Australian snubfin dolphin
False killerwhale by Adam U
Long-finned pilot whale nu Gailhampshire
Rough toothed dolphin
Melon-headed Dolphin by Cyril di Bisceglie
Pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) off of Guam
Irrawaddy Dophin
Short-finned pilot whale by Martina Nolte
Risso’s dolphin

Subfamily incerta sedis (latin for “of uncertain placement” )6 species

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin
Dusky dolphin by AllenMoC
Hourglass dolphin by Lomvi2
Pacific white sided dolphin by NMFS southwest fisheries science center
Peales dolphin by fDrummondH
White beaked dolphin

Subfamily Lissodelphininae 6 sppecies

Black dolphins by Bobbyandck
Commerson's dolphin by Tonina1
Haviside dolphin by Joachim Huber
Hector dolphin by Avenue
Northern right whale dolphin
Southern right whale dolphin

Subfamily Orcininae

Orca by Robert Pittman NOAA
  • Inioidea : This includes 3 groups
    • Iniidae (only 1 of 5 genus remains -Inea (4 species: Araguaian river dolphin, Bolivian river dolphin  and Orinoco dolphin)
Amazon river dolphin by Oceancetaceen sometimes known as the Orinoco
Araguaian river dolphin by Rio Cicica
Bolivian river dolphin by Ramon and Suzanne Vargas
    • Lipotidae: which contains only one species: the Baiji or Chinese river dolphin
  • Pontoporiidae: which contains one species 
La plata dolpin

The next family is the beaked whales. There are 24 species, of which only 3-4 have been well studied. This is because they spend much of their time deep in the sea, it appears that each species does not have many members and they are incredibly reclusive in their habits.

One might ask how an air breathing animal can spend so much of its time deep in the ocean? Well the Curved beaked whale has had a dive timed at 138 minutes. More incredible, they only need around 2 minutes to catch their breathe before sinking back into the depths. This means that if required, they can spend just 20 minutes out of 24 hours at the surface – an incredible stunt.

There appear to be a great number of species that are extinct – these we will not list, but will mention each subfamily in passing.

Incertae sedis contains 5 extinct genus, Basal forms include 13 extinct genus

Subfamily Berardiinae contains 3 genus, 2 of which are extinct, but the third contains 3 living species (and one dead) .  

Genus Beradius

 

Arnoux's beaked whale
Baird beaked whale
Sato beaked whale

Next we cover the Bottlenose whales

Northern                                                                                                                     Southern and                                                        Tropical

northern bottlenose whale
Southern bottlenose whale
Tropical bottlenose whale

Subfamily Ziphiinae  contains 5 genus, 3 are extinct, but two have just one species in each

Genus Tasmacetus: Shepherds beaked whale Genus Ziphius: Cuviers beaked whale

Click on the image to see it in full

The most populous genus Mesoplodon – mesoplodont whales

As you can see, many of the pictures are of dead whales, or skulls or diagrams, or even just text. This is because sightings of many species are so rare that they have never had a photo taken

As you can see from the whale family tree, the sperm whales are separate from the rest. However, they are toothed whales so belong in this section of the page.

pygmy sperm whale
Sperm-whale-by-Gabriel-Barathieu

African Nile Crocodile

Nile crocodile

The Nile crocodile is spread widely throughout sub-saharan africa (except for parts

 of South Africa, thought to be natural and not due to hunting). A suggested subspecies is found in western Madagascar, there are 7 such subspecies, though none have been officially recognized.

While it was originally thought to be the same species as the western African crocodile (confusing given its range), it has actually been found to be closer related to various crocodiles from the Americas, particularly the American crocodile. As such, parts of the map above may actually host west African crocodiles exclusively.

The Nile crocodile is considered the second largest on earth, only beaten by the saltwater crocodile of Asia, interestingly, interestingly the saltwater crocodile is also the only crocodilian that has a greater range than the African crocodile. It was thought that the crocodile had arrived on Madagascar in the last 2000 years – after the extinction of the endemic Voey crocodile, but recently a skull was found and dated to be 7500 years old, suggesting that they must have coexisted for millennia.

While rarely venturing into the sea, they can (like all true crocodiles) survive here, and one was found alive 11 miles off the South African coast in the past.

They have been found in the Florida Everglades, presumably after an illegal introduction – there is so far no evidence of them successfully breeding here. It is unclear of their origin or where they came from, though they are genetically most similar to crocs from South Africa.

While they usually only dive for a few minutes at a time, they are capable of holding their breath for 30 minutes of activity under water – impressively, those inactive under water can stay down for around 2 hours. While rapid and effective hunters in the waters and along its edge, they are far less capable away from the water, and it is rare that they hunt away from water, having said this they are known to hunt here, and are incredibly adaptable to any opportunity. They have a surprisingly small stomach, only the size of a basketball.

Only around 10% of eggs will hatch and around 1% will survive to adulthood. Certainly, much of this damage is down to the Nile monitor lizard, which is thought to be responsible for as much as 50% of the eggs on its own, though median sized cats, baboon troops and mongooses all attack crocodile nests with regularity. Once born, crocodiles are even more at risk, both from animals already mentioned, as well as virtually every predatory water bird, from storks and egrets to even pelicans. Unfortunately, the biggest threat are other adult crocodiles which will happily eat young. While the mother does stay around, and aggressively protects her young, there are so many animals trying to snag a meal, many of the young crocodiles are caught during this time.

The biggest threats include loss of habitat, pollution, hunting, and human activities such as accidental entanglement in fishing nets.

Current estimates are around 250,000 to 500,000. In some parts of Africa they are farmed for their hide (their meat is unpleasant).

Their population is less healthy in western and central Africa, being more sparsely spread. This also makes it hard to do an accurate assessment of their status in this part of Africa.

Along with the saltwater crocodile, the African nile crocodile is estimated to kill anywhere from hundreds to thousands of people each year, with attacks generally carried out by larger crocodiles (thought to be over 3.5m). Given the numbers, it is thought that nile crocodiles and saltwater crocodiles are the most successful hunter of humans – far more fatalities than great while sharks. One study suggested, that while the danger of lions was well known, there was a bizarre feeling that crocodiles were not dangerous. The numbers may well be down to the fact that crocodiles live in water – a place where humans are forced to go regularly.

Below this is a list of any articles released on this site, which mentions the Nile crocodile. Below this, is a video of the species, and below this, we will add links of places to see this species, though if you visit wild places, all savannahs listed on the site will have nile crocodiles.

Sea-Lions

An encounter with almost any wild animal can be something you remember for years. This sealion that came out of the sea on the beach in New Zealand is no different

Sea-lions

There are 6 living species of sea-lion, and 1 extinct. As the interest in these species grows and the links become unwieldy i will split out the separate species, but for the time being I will just have one page for them all – help it to be necessary to split them as soon as possible. 

Sea-lions are pinnipeds with external ear flaps, long fore-flippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. The sea-lions the 6 living species shown below (the Japanese sea-lion is extinct) in five genera. Their range extends from the subarctic to tropical waters of the global ocean in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with the notable exception of the northern Atlantic Ocean. They have an average lifespan of 20–30 years.[2] A male California sea-lion weighs on average about 300 kg (660 lb) and is about 2.4 m (8 ft) long, while the female sea-lion weighs 100 kg (220 lb) and is 1.8 m (6 ft) long. The largest sea-lions are Steller’s sea-lions, which can weigh 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) and grow to a length of 3.0 m (10 ft). Sea-lions consume large quantities of food at a time and are known to eat about 5–8% of their body weight (about 6.8–15.9 kg (15–35 lb)) at a single feeding. Sea-lions can move around 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) in water and at their fastest they can reach a speed of about 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph).[3] Three species, the Australian sea-lion, the Galápagos sea-lion and the New Zealand sea-lion, are listed as endangered.

Steller sea-lion
Australian sea-lion
California sea-lion
Galápagos sea-lion
New Zealand sea-lion
South American sea-lion

Steller Sea-lion are found on the land of North America and Asia that circle the north pole (map below, credit NOAA). 

They are predated by killer whales, though sleeper sharks and great whites sometimes take young. They eat a variety of foods, include various fish species, as well as octopus and squid. They are fast swimmers, capable of diving to 1500feet, and staying under for 16 minutes

During breeding season, males fight to control a stretch of beach, and females move freely to the place they favour. 

Status: population has fallen 70-80% since the 1970s and so are listed as endangered, around 46,000 individuals, though in recent years, the Eastern population has grown at around 3% a year (in 2013 this lead to its removal from the US endangered species list)

 

Australian Sea-lion is the only endemic pinniped found in Australia.

They can make a variety of calls, with mothers and young able to pick up each others call in the chaos of a breeding beach. There are currently 66 recognized breeding beaches, though 42% of pups are bred on just 4 of these beaches.

While rare, a bite can require hospitalisation. In both the 1930s and 1960s they were recorded as feeding on little penguins, and this still happens today. Other food includes a variety of fish and even small sharks, in turn, they are hunted by great white sharks and killer whale (orca).

Population was 14370 in 2010 though by 2014 it had fallen to just 6500 mature individuals, though current estimates are 11,200 suggesting a rebound. Still it is clear that they need particular efforts for their conservation. Despite their (relatively) close ranges, the Australian and New Zealand sea-lions do not appear to be closely related. They are considered vulnerable.

California Sea-lion Are found on the west coast of north America. On this map, the navy blue marks the breeding rance, while the light blue shows the total range that they can be found in. It should be noted, that previously the Japanese and Galapagos sealion were both considered subspecies of the Californian species, but no longer. They can stay healthy, for a time, in fresh water, and have been seen living for a while in Bonneville dam – 150 miles inland.

They see (mostly in blue/green) and hear well, as well as being able to sense nearby, with their whiskers. They generally eat fish, squid and occasionally clams. They have been seen cooperating with other sealions, or indeed dolphins porpoises and sea-birds in their hunting techniques, though exploitation is also common.

There are 5 relatively distinct populations. Several sealions have reached Japanese waters in recent years, and this is the most likely origin, as such  it could return to Japan on its own. 

It is considered least concern with 238,000-241,000 individuals and increasing over time.

Galapagos Sea-lions Found on all of the Galapagos Islands, as well as (in smaller numbers) on Isla de la Plata, which is just 40km from Puerto López a village in Ecuador. There have also been recorded sightings on the Isla del Coco which is 500km southwest of Costa Rica (and 750km from the Galapagos). These are not regular, and so have been considered vagrant. It is of course possible that historically they roamed here, but we cannot say.

They are the smallest species of sea-lion, and can often be seen gliding through the water, or sunbathing on the beach. They measure 1.5m-2.5m and weigh between 50 and 400kg.

Much of their diet is made up of sardines. Interaction with humans is usually negative, and feral dogs often form packs, and can then attack the sealions.

The population tends to bounce between 20,000 and 50,000 and they are currently classed as endangered

 

New Zealand Sea-lion (formerly known as the Hooker sealion) is native to south island, though before 1500 it is thought that it was also found on north island. They tend to breed on Subarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell (99% of the pups are born in these islands). In 1993, sealions started breeding on South Island again for the first time in 150 years.

Genetic evidence suggests that until 1300-1500 there was a mainland subspecies, which was wiped out by the Mauri’s and has been replaced by members from the sub-Antarctic population.

As well as eating fish and crustations, they will take new Zealand fur seals as well. They are hunted by great white sharks, and in a survey 27% of adults had scars from near misses. While south American sealions are hunted by orca (with them famously beaching to catch them) they do not appear to do this around New Zealand. After the birth of their pup, females move inland as much as 2km to avoid males, storms and even parasites.

They are thought to number 12,000 making them the rarest sealion. They are also the most distinct being part of the Genus Phocarctos, and are listed as endangered.

 

South-American Sea-lion

Also known as the Southern sealion or the Patagonian sealion. They have been recorded going as far north as Ecuador, though not yet breeding there. They eat fish, as well as squid and octopus, and have even been observed predating penguins, pelicans and South American fur seals.

Males set up territories, but after the arrival of females switch to protecting them. Having said this, one population in Peru have a different set-up where males perform, and females choose a mate, and are free to move freely. This may be in result to the warmer climate, which means the females make regular trips into the sea.

The total population is estimated at 265,000. They are declining in Patagonia (Argentina) and the Falklands but increasing in Chile and Uruguay. In the 2013 El nino many Peruvian sealions died. They are still regularly killed by fishermen, both for damaging equipment and stealing fish.

They are listed as least concern

 

As we gain contacts each picture above will become a link to a page for the specific species – for now, all species will be looked after by this page. If you are a wildlife guide or live nearby and want to be able to host (as a hotel or B&B or campsite) and would like to be listed do get in touch. Our aim, is to give people all the information and links on one page, so that they can book everything in one go – making it easy, and therefore more people undertaking these sort of trips.

Sea-lions can be specifically searched out, but it is also possible to have a surprise encounter with one.

One of my most memorable encounters with any wildlife, is an encounter with a New Zealand sealion.  We had simply gone for a walk on the beach, and at some point, we saw the sea-lion coming out of the sea. This huge male slowly made its way towards us, and when about 10m away it lay down in the sand, threw sand all over itself and went to sleep.

To return to the Pinniped page click here

Pallas Cat

Often referred to as the grumpy cat or in similar way, the Pallas cat occurs in Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea through iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India to central China, Mongolia and southern Russia. Populations in the southwest portion of their range – the Caspian Sea region, Afghanistan and Pakistan – are diminishing, isolated and scarce.

It size is similar to the domestic cat, and is far less stocky than its thick fur might make people believe.

It specializes in hunting small mammals.

It is considered least concern in terms of conservation, but little is known about its behaviour or situation in much of its range.

Fishing cat

fishing cat phot by Kelinahandbasket

Fishing cat

The current range of the Fishing cat

The fishing cat has been classed as vulnerable since 2016.

 It is a midsized cat he fishing cat lives foremost in the vicinity of wetlands, along rivers, streams, oxbow lakes, in swamps and mangroves. One of the alarming things to look at, is that the majority of this range is likely to be hit hard if sea levels do rise significantly over the last few decades.

Svalbard archipeligo (Norway)

Svalbard archipeliago, north of Norway

This refuge was established in 1980 to protest the wildlife, both on and off shore. In terms of wildlife, brown bears, reindeer (around 7000 in this herd) wolves, wolverines, foxes, beavers. Moose are locally extinct due to overhunting. Off the coast, there are sea otters, seals, sea lions, and migratory grey whales. There are also over 200 species of bird. There are local native people who have lived within the reserve for 10,500 years and use the lands resources sustainably.

The video below, is all filmed from a cruise ship visiting the islands – just to give you an idea of what there is to see.

This is an island that I am eager to visit one of these days.

aaa Skeleton coast, Namibia

Skeleton coast, Namibia

Lioness with cape fur seal it hunted, on the beach

The skeleton coast in Namibia, is one of the few people where the desert runs right down to the sea. This desert area in Namibia is quite strange, as many species that do not usually live in desert region, but here they do.

Here freshwater springs permeate the barren sands to create life-sustaining oases for small pockets of wildlife in the middle of the desert. Hartmann’s mountain zebra, gemsbok, desert-adapted elephant, brown hyena, giraffe and – occasionally – cheetah may all be found in this wild and rugged landscape. This part of the coast hosts a several large cape fur seals  colonies, which leads to fascinating moments like the above with lions hunting on the beach.

Below is a video, of a hyena deep in the desert, something not likely to be seen elsewhere.

This huge area of wilderness is actually made up of 4 reserves: Skeleton Coast national park, Dorob National Park (which contains Cape cross seal reserve -this is the largest of the 24 cape fur seals breeding colonies, with 80,000 to 100,000  on site at its height. Fur seals are more closely related to sea lions than to seals), Namib-Naukluft national park and Tsau Khaeb national park. Any links will appear below as this site grows.

aaa Red Sea including Herghada underwater gardens

Red Sea

The red sea coast heads south from the Suez canal for about 500 miles. There is a range of places which are good for diving

Hurghada underwater gardens: until recently largely unknown, it is now a place which people come from all over the world to see the underwater world either with snorkels or diving.

Sites of merit include    

•         Dolphin house: A pinnacle with a half moon coral. Covered with table corals and giant fans and home to  several dolphin families

•         Small Giftun (within Giftun Island national park) is a fantastic playground for experienced divers. Caves, canyons, steep walls, black coral, white tip sharks, Barracuda, and whale sharks

If you work along this coast, do fill in the form to add your location

 

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