21 articles
A species profile of the Australian fur seal, Bass Strait's biggest pinniped — nearly sealed out of existence, now recovering along the kelp coasts of the south.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Dall's porpoise is the slate-and-white speedster of the cold North Pacific, famous for its rooster-tail splash. Biology, range, speed and how to spot one.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Gray whales hug kelp coastlines for 20,000 kilometres a year — feeding, rubbing and hiding calves in the kelp line. The whale–kelp forest connection, explained.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Do harbour seals live in kelp forests? Not quite — but they hunt in them, pup beside them and shape them. Inside the seal–kelp relationship.
Tom Okafor ·
Northern fur seals spend most of their lives far offshore, then crowd onto island beaches to breed. Range, deep diving, the fur trade's shadow and recovery.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Rāpoka, the New Zealand sea lion, is one of the world's rarest sea lions — a subantarctic breeder slowly recolonising the mainland coast. Its biology and comeback story.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Sea otters dive 40-90 seconds at a time, all day, in cold water — with the densest fur of any mammal and one of the fastest metabolisms. Here's how the physiology works.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Diving and snorkelling where seals and sea lions live: keeping legal distances, reading their body language, what to do when one approaches — and why the animal decides.
Tom Okafor ·
A species profile of the South American sea lion, the maned beachmaster of the Humboldt and Patagonian kelp coasts — biology, range and fishery friction.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The southern right whale is a slow, southern giant with a calloused head — and a documented habit of draping itself in kelp. Its biology, recovery and kelp play.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The Steller sea lion is the largest of the eared seals — a tonne of muscle-hauling out beside North Pacific kelp forests. Its biology, range and hard-won recovery.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Underwater, sound is the only sense that travels. How sound speed works in seawater, what the SOFAR channel is, and why the ocean is far noisier than it seems.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
California sea lions are the kelp coast's most boisterous residents — acrobatic, intelligent and climate-sensitive. Ecology, biology and the Channel Islands nursery.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
The harbour seal is the temperate kelp coast's most widespread pinniped — a shy true seal found from California to the Baltic. Facts, ecology and how to watch them.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Marine mammal observers watch for whales and dolphins around offshore construction and seismic work. Training, certification, pay and how to break in.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Meet the harbour porpoise, the small, shy cetacean of northern coasts: how to identify it, where it lives, what it eats, and why gillnets haunt it.
Dr. Theo Nakamura ·
Grey whales roll in kelp, humpbacks feed at its edge, right whales calve beside it. Seasons, species and shore lookouts for kelp-coast whale watching.
Tom Okafor ·
Meet the Pacific white-sided dolphin — the torpedo-striped, bow-riding acrobat of North Pacific kelp latitudes, from BC's inshore passages to Monterey Bay.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
Northern elephant seals dive farther than almost any mammal and came back from near-extinction. Learn their biology, haul-outs and recovery story.
Dr. Mara Ellison ·
How to snorkel with seals and sea lions on kelp coasts legally and kindly — reading haul-outs, letting them choose the encounter, and what to do when a pup swims to you.
Tom Okafor ·
Marine mammal observers and PAM operators keep industrial noise and whales apart. What the job is, which certifications matter, and how to land contracts.
Tom Okafor ·