Ocean Wildlife
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Beluga
Whales Characterized by their unique creamy white color, belugas have an extensive vocal repertoire and have long been called the "sea canary" by seamen who heard their myriad sounds. Communicative and emotive calls can be divided into whistles and pulsed calls. As many as 50 call types have been recognized. |
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Bottlenose
Dolphins Dolphins were thought by ancient Greeks and Romans to bring mariners good luck, and appeared frequently in their legends. In fact, the Greeks honored them on more than 40 coins. |
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Gray
Whales Frequently seen off the Pacific Coast of North America, gray whales delight spectators with their curious, playful, and friendly behaviors. They sometimes even approach whale-watching skiffs and enable passengers to pet them. |
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Hawaiian
Monk Seals Sometimes called "living fossils," Hawaiian monk seals haven't changed in 15 million years. Named for their solitary behavior and the folds of skin on their neck—which resemble a monk's hood—monk seals are one of the most endangered marine animals in U.S. waters. |
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Humpback
Whales Famous for their acrobatics, humpback whales carry out a range of spectacular behaviors in play, communication, parasite removal, and to express excitement or annoyance. These behaviors include breaching, lobtailing, and flippering. |
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Manatees Once mistaken for mermaids by lonely sailors, slow-moving manatees roam Florida's coastal waterways. So do ships and fast-moving recreational boats, which injure and kill dozens of these endangered animals each year. In fact, most manatees in Florida bear scars or deformities from being run over by boats and cut by boat propellers. |
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Right
Whales Western North Atlantic right whales were once abundant along the coasts of the United States and Canada. However, beginning with coastal whaling operations centuries ago, right whales became the target of intensive hunting for their lucrative blubber and baleen. Despite more than 60 years of protection from hunting, no more than 325 western North Atlantic right whales remain. |
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Sea
Otters The smallest of all marine mammals, southern sea otters once thrived from Northern California to Baja. Hunted to the brink of extinction by the fur trade of the 1800s, a small colony survived near Big Sur. Today, only about 2,000 southern sea otters exist, and they face many dangers —- like oil spills, entanglement in fishing gear, diseases and pollution. |
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Sea
Turtles From leatherbacks to loggerheads, seven species of sea turtles swim the world's oceans—with the exception of the Australian flatback, all are listed as threatened or endangered. Sadly, they face many dangers as they travel the seas—like getting caught in fishing gear meant for other animals, the loss of nesting and feeding sites, directed hunting and pollution. |
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The Ocean Conservancy There are many groups that have invested a lot of time and money into helping the Ocean's wildlife but they all need our help and support. There are many ways you can do so like volunteering and donating to these causes. Most of all knowledge is our greatest tool and the personal investments that we make to increase our knowledge will help us to inform others and raise awareness so we can all be more conscious of the world we live in. Courtesy of The Ocean Conservancy
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