why do seals slap themselves

Seals like this one photographed during the Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem Experiment (SIPEX-II) in Antarctica, depend on sea ice to survive. They hunt for food, such as fish and krill, under the ice, and use the ice surface for rest and to have their pups. (Photo by Peter Kimball, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) New research shows Weddell seals avoid making extreme dives for prey during midday, allowing the seals to keep diving over and over without having to pause for long. This allows them to spend almost all of their time underwater, foraging under high-light conditions, which is best for visual hunters. (Michelle Shero, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) In Antarctica, Weddell seals give birth once a year on the sea ice and nurse their pups for approximately six weeks. Females lose 30-40% of their body mass while pups triple in size. This species is one of the very few in which the females give their pups swimming lessons and is believed to be important for the pup to develop some early foraging skills. (Image credit: Michelle Shero, under ... Studying How Seals Adapt to Extreme Environments Could Lead to Benefits ... Could seals also use their whiskers to “feel” the surrounding water patterns to track fish that swim by? In the early 2000s, marine biologists at the University of Rostock in Germany began to explore that theory. They conducted experiments in which they placed a blindfold and earmuffs on a seal.

Seals find ease in taking a meal already ensnared in wall-like gillnets cast by fishermen, but at what cost? WHOI biologist Andrea Bogomolni works with the fishing community to record and observe this behavior with the hopes of mitigating marine mammal bycatch WHOI biologist Rebecca Gast examines whether the recovered and thriving population of gray seals in Cape Cod waters has affected water quality off the beaches they frequent.