seals

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    New England Seal Die-Off Could be Linked to Chemical Pollution

    New England Seal Die-Off Could be Linked to Chemical Pollution

    Researchers think a mysterious die-off of seals along the Maine coast could be linked to chemical pollution, the Portland Press Herald reported Sunday. More than 400 dead or stranded seals have washed up on the Maine coast so far this year, more than in any of the past seven years, according to National Oceanic and […]

    How a Small Piece of Plastic Wrap Likely Killed a Harp Seal

    How a Small Piece of Plastic Wrap Likely Killed a Harp Seal

    A young harp seal that washed up dead on the Scottish Isle of Skye last Friday likely died of health complications after ingesting a small piece of plastic wrap, according to scientists who examined the animal. Scientists with the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) performed a necropsy on the animal and described it as […]

    One of World’s Last Great Wildernesses Declared Free of Bird-Killing Rats

    One of World’s Last Great Wildernesses Declared Free of Bird-Killing Rats

    Following a £10 million ($13.5 million) eradication scheme and nearly a decade of work, South Georgia was officially declared rodent-free on Tuesday, the first time since humans arrived on the island more than 200 years ago. The British territory is one of the world’s last great wildlife areas. There you’ll find 98 percent of the […]

    640,000 Metric Tons of Ghost Gear Enters Oceans Each Year

    640,000 Metric Tons of Ghost Gear Enters Oceans Each Year

    Governments around the world are waking up to the scourge of plastics on our oceans and its creatures by banning items such as shopping bags and drinking straws. But an often-overlooked form of plastic waste is also a major threat to our seas: “ghost” gear. A report released Thursday from World Animal Protection highlights that […]

    Appeals Court: Animals Can Be Listed as Threatened Based on Climate Change Risk

    Appeals Court: Animals Can Be Listed as Threatened Based on Climate Change Risk

    A U.S. appeals court ruled that federal agencies can list species as threatened based on projections of how climate change will impact their habitats. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Oil companies and Alaska natives had challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision to list a seal species as threatened because of sea ice loss, but […]

    Seals Reveal How Antarctic Sea Ice Melt Affects Ocean Currents

    Seals Reveal How Antarctic Sea Ice Melt Affects Ocean Currents

    By Tim Radford Scientists have recruited the elephant seal—the bruiser of the pinniped world—to explore and report back on the dynamics of ocean currents in the Antarctic winter. Elephant seal carrying satellite-linked sensor in Prydz Bay, Antarctica.University of Tasmania And the mammals have delivered a potentially ominous message: because fresh water is melting from the […]