Free Pinniped Essays and Papers

distinguish between the two species. While both of these mammals share many abilities, these ‘second cousins’ are distinctly different from each other in many ways. Seals and sea lions have many anatomical differences and similarities. As mammals, Pinnipeds are warm-blooded, breathe air with lungs, have hair, bear live young, and females nurse their young, providing milk via their mammary glands. Looking at the exterior of the mammals, two first-sight identifiers set these two species apart. They are

At the beginning of our winter season, El Nino left some dramatic effects on our seal and sea lion population here in Southern California. Since June of 1997, about 6,000 sea mammals have perished on this San Miguel Island, 50 miles off the Ventura coast. This island is home to the largest population of seals and sea lions south of Alaska. Scientists estimate that there are approximately between 85,000 and 180,000 California sea lions breeding on this island and other Channel Islands. There are

Survival of the fittest serves to be true in all walks of society. When drawing attention to the animals on top of the food chain, it’s important to analyze what sets them apart from the rest. What is the edge they have on the competitors? What are their weaknesses? The animals that occupy the artic regions have learned to survive the furry of Mother Nature, but still must compete for survival with the top predator of the artic, the polar bear. Polar bears inhabit the circumpolar arctic regions

SPECIES- Ursus Maritimus, Polar Bear, lord of the Arctic. Lives in an area of five million square miles of snow and ice. From Siberia to Alaska and across Canada, Greenland and the Islands north of Norway, he is the master of all living things except man. It lives in the brutal cold, ice, and snow. The temperature can plunge down frequently to -40 degrees and sometimes even lower but that does not bother the polar bear because of its color-less skin and layer of insulation fat. Its range extending

For as long as humans lived in Atlantic and Northern Canada, seals were hunted for food, clothing, tools, and cultural customs. Seal hunts still take place off the Newfoundland coast, near the Magdalene Islands, the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Inuit regions every spring for rural communities and commercially to provide part-time employment for fishermen. Commercial hunts occurring only for money differ from traditional hunts and lack the respect for seals. Many individuals take offense to

Introduction The otter is a carnivorous mammal in the Weasel family, also known as the Mustelidae family. It also includes other animals such as weasels, minks, badgers and wolverines. All current species are semi-aquatic, aquatic or marine. There are a number of Otter species such as the Oriental small-clawed otter, European otter, North American river Otter, Sea otter and Giant otter. The Oriental small-clawed otter is the smallest otter and the Giant otter is the largest otter, and longest member

Polar bears are one of the Earth’s largest and most powerful carnivores. These bears are dependent on sea ice as their primary habitat and are thus found on the Arctic coasts of North America. The scientific term used to describe polar bears, Ursus maritimus translates to sea bear because polar bears spend most of their lives on the Arctic ice. A common misconception the public holds is that polar bears are white; their fur is actually consists of two transparent layers: hollow guard hairs and an

Polar bears are the largest of the bear species that live in the arctic region (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). Their habitat surrounds them with ice and water. Climate warming is an issue for all polar bears because they rely on sea ice to hunt for sea lions throughout the year to maintain energy (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). Polar bears hunt for sea lions to build up their energy for when sea lions aren’t available to them (Derocher & Stirling, 2012). If sea ice dissolves in the arctic area polar bears

In 2008 the Polar bear was put on the endangered species list, they were the first to be placed on this list primarily due to global warming. Many will argue with this fact, but as we will discover through this document, global warming is real and is in fact affecting the lives of the polar bears. Polar Bears depend on the sea to freeze over which enables them to hunt seals. The bears have a short season to hunt in order to gain enough fat to survive the entire year. With the decline

The Seal Hunt As spring comes closer its that season where people take their boats to icy cold waters off the east coast of Canada to go hunt seals. The seal hunt happens every year in spring off the East Coast of Canada. The hunters take their boats into icy cold waters with rapids and ice everywhere, just to try to kill as many seals as they can before the time runs out. Some ways that the hunters kill the seals is by either shooting them with a gun or using a hakapik, which is a spiked wooden

BIGFOOT- LEGEND OR HOAX It is an unexplainable mystery that is said to live in the wilderness of Washington State. It is a cryptozoological creature that either doesn't like people or he is scared of them. Some claim to have seen the creature. Most think the beast is an elaborate hoax. But there is no question that the remote forests of the northwestern United States are said to be home to a legendary, reclusive, ape-like being known only as Bigfoot. I have personally seen and heard

Age and Sex Specific Seasonal Variations in Weight of Black Bears in Pakistan Bears Sanctuary Little is known about the natural ecology and behavior of the Asiatic bear. Their diet varies depending on the season but, in common with most other bears, they are predominately herbivorous feeding on acorns, beech and other nuts as well as fruits and berries (Burnie,D. 2001). These bears spend around half of their time in the trees (Animal Diversity Web, July 2002) and construct platforms from branches

Climate change refers to the variations in the mean and variables of climate properties that persists over long periods and results in one among the most crucial and common problems in the current world. Often, climate change results from human activities or natural gases and has both physical and economic effects on the world and people. Climate change has social effects on aspects such as health, food production, and growth. Climate change causes tremendous spread of certain infectious diseases

“Reef Fish Find It’s Too Hot to Swim” (600 words) Global warming has effected the world. The earth has had a drastic and devastating aftermath since humans have decided to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This resulted in the ground (above or below water) temperature to rise; the very definition of global warming. This has warmed up the waters and the fish of the ocean are now living in an environment that is too hot for them to live in. The example given is the coral trout, a fish

The Effects of El Nino on Sea Lions El Nino, also called the "El Nino-Southern Oscillation" or ENSO, is a change in the ocean-atmosphere system in the eastern Pacific that occurs about every five to seven years. It contributes to significant weather changes around the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Among these changes are increased rainfall across the southern region of the U.S. and in Peru and drought in the West Pacific, affecting Australia and

Seal slaughtering had taken place on the ice floes off Canada’s East coast in two areas which are the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the east of the Magdalen Islands for almost half a decade. Each year, thousands of Canadian fishermen murder and shoot two-weeks to two-months old seals, drag them and skin the pups while still alive and conscious. They sell the skin for leather and fashion garments while the remains of the body are left on the ice to rot. I believe that the process of clubbing seals is cruel

The Guadalupe fur seal is a mammal who is endangered. These seals are very rare and are famous for their fur. Guadalupe fur seals were once considered extinct but have been rediscovered in 1954. This mammal is now fully protected and there’s a slim chance for them to go extinct for a while. Guadalupe fur seals only live on rocky coasts and in caves found along shores. Out of all of the nine species of the seals, the Guadalupe have been the only ones sighted in the northern hemisphere. Meanwhile

The polar bear is a mammal and is one of the biggest land carnivorous on earth. It has close similarities with the Alaskan grizzly bear. Their feeding habit consists of eating lots of meat. However during the summertime months, when its warmer, polar bears can also eat plant-based substance. Polar bear are carnivorous predators to the core. Polar bears prefer to kill the ringed seal, usually the young pups. Although they also go after after mammals, such as walruses, harp seals, bearded seals and

The seal hunt has been a Canadian tradition, started by the First Nations people, for over 4000 years. The seal hunt is still going on today and the debate of wheater it is an important part of our country and if it’s something we want our home and native land to be associated with. Furthermore, the hunt has been shown on many occasions to be extremely inhumane and unsustainable. It also does not provide a significant economic boost. Consequently, the Canadian government has been working on ways

The Arctic tundra, a vast plain of ice and water, is located on the northern poles of the Earth. Characterized by its low precipitation, minimum sunlight, and a layer of permafrost- a thick layer of ice that never thaws away- this biome is very cold, with temperatures as low as negative 70oC. One specific population that has adapted to this harsh environment is the polar bears. The Arctic tundra’s extreme temperatures have caused species, specifically polar bears, to adapt to it. Polar bears feed