Wet Beasts Abound

Pinniped Sideblog | I follow from @persimmon-prince

[pinniparty]

Welcome to my blog!!

My online alias is Yatzka (he/him). Feel free to use it interchangeably with my username in reference to me!

★ This blog is dedicated to pinnipeds, selkies, celtic & inuit culture, folklore & art.

I'm incredibly passionate about pinnipeds (phocidae in particular) and resonate strongly with them (:3 っ)っ

My favorites pinnipeds are weddell seals, ribbon seals and leopard seals!!

🧭 Tagging system: species name, sub species when applicable, family (phocidae, otariidae or odobenidae), pinniped, wild or in captivity, and medium (photography, art, video, audio, text, gif, informative, etc.)

All posts not directly depicting pinnipeds will be tagged #nonpinniped

If I miss-identify a species and you notice please feel to correct me! I'm still relativity new to identifying pinnipeds and appreciate the opportunity to become better at it! If I'm unsure of an identification it'll be tagged #tentitive id

My favorite plush pinnipeds: phocinae, monachinae, arctocephalinae, otariinae, odobenidae + honorable mentions (comming soon)

Resources:

Trusted Pinniped Rescues:

Cornish Seal Sanctuary

Seal Rescue Ireland

Zeehondencentrum Seal Hospital

Kegness Natureland

The Marine Mammal Center

Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles

Articles:

Ringed seals and their sub species

How marine mammals sleep

Evaluating leopard seal body condition

Additional Information:

Official info about the seals at Tokkari Center (In Japanese)

A great information hub for weddell seals

More on weddell seals

Differentiating New Zealand seals

Basic leopard seal info

Leopard seal sounds

How leopard seals are adapted to their habitat

Baltic Ringed Seal Foundation

More on ringed seals and their sub species

Yatzka's Bookshelf:

The People of the Sea by David Thomson

The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses by Marianne Riedman

A Year With The Seals: Unlocking the Secrets of the Sea's Most Charismatic and Controversial Creatures by Alix Morris

Weddell Seals: Science, Life History, and Population Dynamics by Weddell Seals Science

Song of The Sea Artbook by Tomm Moore

[skyedoms-seals]

Source

[evies-grace]

🥟

[nnjrwpu]

oh goodness! oh dear!! oh no!!!

[daily-dragon-drawing]

#136 - 海龍 (hǎilóng / seadragon) - May be found in your local aquarium! :3 🐉

[pacificremains]

An oldie - seahorse skeleton cleaned using oxidation

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Dark Seahorse in Cepheus

[witchrealms]

(x)

[steampunktendencies]

This is a literal "Hammerhead" shark created by artist Matt Sanders.

The sculpture is made from 685 reclaimed steel hammer heads and weighs 500 lbs (about 227 kg). It took approximately 2,500 hours of work to weld together. Sanders even used sledgehammers for the eye sockets and ball-peen hammers for the eyes to give it a realistic look.

It was displayed at the Aquarium of the Pacific in California and remains one of the coolest examples of upcycled art out there.

[ocean-sunfish-hater]

Did you know! Elephant Seals are negatively buoyant, which means that they sink naturally in the water, but have to use energy to swim back up. This means that they are able to save 18-24% of their energy on a dive compared to having to actively swim down. This descent is so effective that they can actually fall asleep on the way down! They are also officially described as "falling like a leaf". Have a look at the cool diagram below that I pulled from one of my university lectures that I went to a few years ago.

ID: a diagram of the descent pattern of an elephant seal. There are three axes (depth, distance west and distance south) showing the distances from the release point in metres. There is a coloured scale showing the speed of the descent, and a spiral made up of coloured dots that show the route.

[sealsdaily]

Today's Seal Is: Bird Observation Hour

[utopicwork]

Elephant Seal

ID: Pixel art side portrait of an adult elephant seal

Reference:

[worldsandemanations]

Bowl with Fish design , Iran, probably Kashan, late 13th–mid-14th century, stonepaste; black decoration under a transparent turquoise glaze

[jedimasterhyladae]

sleepy monk seal ʻīlio-holo-i-ka-uaua Neomonachus schauinslandi

[hexcii]

Oh almighty smol seal, I ask for wisdom!

What is the most unknown seal? (Or least talked about)

I’d say Monk- and Caspian seals!! Which is kinda sad to be honest, because those are the seals that are all endangered :((

Monk seals, both Hawaiian and Mediterranean are the only seals that can be found in tropical climates. There used to be Caribbean Monk seals as well, but this species went extinct in 1952 due to excessive hunting.

Caspian seals are very small compared to other seals, just under 130cm (but still not as small as the Baikal seal) and is only found in the Caspian Sea. (of course) Since the 1900, the population has dropped by over 90%.

The hooded is also sadly endangered, but they are more well known/talked about than the Monk- and Caspian seals due to their unique inflatable nose.

[marine-mammal-news]

Monk seal acoustic study quadruples known call types and detects novel communication strategy

New research led by UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP) has drastically increased the unders

New research led by the UH Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology has dramatically expanded the known underwater vocal repertoire of the endangered Hawaiian monk seal; identifying 25 distinct vocalizations from a previous count of six, after analysing over 4,500 hours of acoustic data. Key discoveries include the identification of 20 previously undocumented calls and the first-ever evidence of a pinniped species using combinational calls, suggesting a new level of complexity in their communication strategy. Additionally, a new call type, the Whine, was found to be associated with foraging behaviour, representing only the second known example of a seal vocalising while pursuing prey. This vital research establishes a baseline for understanding the species' acoustic world, which is crucial for evaluating how human-generated ocean noise may impact the communication and reproduction of this endemic Hawaiian mammal.

[aqueerkettleofish]

For those who have missed it, a tourist in Hawaii decided it would be fun to chuck a rock (a BIG rock) at a monk seal. He missed, but he was captured on video, and when told it was illegal to interfere with them, said "I'm rich, I can pay the fine."

Is the best part that he got doxxed? No.

Is the best part that he got tracked down by a local and beaten? No.

Arrested on state at federal charges, looking at up to 5 years and 50K? Nope.

The best part is the local city council's reaction.

And the best part of that is the look on the attorney's face.

[ralfmaximus]

More of this please, everywhere.

After the incident, another video went viral showing what appeared to be that man getting a beating. The Maui Police Department said they had no record of any reports of disorderly conduct or assault related to the monk seal incident.

Even the local police are being cool about this.