Sea•thos Foundation

Leopard Seal

In the frigid waters of Antarctica, there are few predators higher on the food chain than the Leopard Seal. Named for their spotted coat, these marine mammals resemble their jungle cat namesake not only in appearance but also in ferociousness.

Scientific Name: Hydrurga leptonyx.

Home: Leopard Seals primarily reside in Antarctica and sub-Artic waters. Though less common, Leopard Seals have also been spotted off the coasts of southern Australia, Tasmania, South Africa and New Zealand.

Physical Characteristics: Leopard Seals can weigh up to 900-1,300 lbs and grow to 12 feet in length. Females are typically slightly larger than their male counterparts.

Perhaps their most defining physical attribute, aside from their black-spotted coat, is the seal’s sharp teeth. The teeth, highlighted by the longer front teeth are sure to evoke fear in their prey and anyone else unlucky enough to find themselves in the water with one of these beasts.

Food: Leopard Seals tend to be the hunters, rather than the hunted. Orcas are the seals only know predator.

The seals primarily feed on penguins, but also have been know to eat smaller seals, fish, squid and shellfish. They hunt penguins by waiting beneath an ice shelf for an unsuspecting penguin to dive in, then use their quickness and agility to chase the penguin down.

Conservation Status: Unlike Fur Seals, Leopard Seals have not been commercially hunted for their coats. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has deemed these predators on the low-end of their ‘Conservation Status’ scale: least concern.

Fun Fact: Take a moment to watch this amazing video of an encounter National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen had with a Leopard Seal. Normally known for their aggressive instincts, Nicklen’s subject showed a more nurturing side, confusing Nicklen for a less-adept predator and attempting to help feed him penguins.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Also known as the Northern Bluefin Tuna, the Giant Bluefin Tuna, or better yet, “tunny”, the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna grows to enormous sizes, has incredible physical features, and is a highly-prized over-fished species. The Bluefin Tuna is endangered and needs your help to survive! Stay posted for our upcoming Earth Day campaign for information on how you can help prevent overfishing!

Scientific Name: Thunnus thynnus

Home: A warm blooded fish, the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna enjoys the cold waters of Newfoundland and Iceland, as well as the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea. 

It is an avid migratory fish and has been tracked swimming from North America to Europe numerous times throughout the year. The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna has become extinct in the Black Sea.

Physical Characteristics: The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is highly evolved and resembles a robotic fish. It has a torpedo-shaped body and crescent-shaped tail enabling it to shoot through waters at speeds up to 43 miles per hour.

The Bluefin Tuna retracts its dorsal and pectoral fins into slots to reduce drag; The finlets on their tails are believed to reduce water turbulence! They are beautifully colored- shimmery blue on top and grey on bottom, which camouflages it from all sides. The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is enormous and can surpass the average size of 6.5 feet in length and 550 lbs!

Food: The Bluefin Tuna reaches its large size by constantly eating! Their diet includes smaller fish and invertebrates such as crustaceans, squid, eels, sardines, herrings, and mackerel. They filter-feed on small organisms such as zooplankton and also enjoy eating kelp.

Conservation Status: Despite their unique physical features, incredible speed and strength, the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is endangered. It has been a prized food fish since the time of the Ancient Greeks and Phoenicians. 

In the 1970′s, demand for Bluefin tuna soared world-wide, particularly in Japan where tuna is very popular in the raw fish market. High demand accompanied with unsustainable fishing practices has led to the dramatic decline in Bluefin Tuna populations.

In October of 2009, The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) stated that Atlantic Bluefin Tuna populations have declined by 72% in the Eastern Atlantic and 82% in the Western Atlantic over the past 40 years. In 2010, European officials increased pressure to ban international commercial fishing of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. Despite these efforts, illegal fishing in Europe has caused the Bluefin Tuna to reach near extinction in European waters.

Fun Facts:
The Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is warm blooded, which is a rare trait for fish to have! They have the ability to thermoregulate, adjusting their body temperatures to warm or cold waters.

The largest tuna ever recorded was an Atlantic Bluefin Tuna caught in the waters of Nova Scotia that weighed 1,496 lbs!!!

The female Bluefin Tuna can lay up to 30 million eggs!!

In January 2012, a 593 lb Bluefin Tuna sold in the Japanese fish market for $736,000- a world record!!

Little Blue Penguin

Scientific name: Eudyptula minor

Fun Facts: The Little Blue Penguin, also known as Fairy Penguin and Little Penguin, is the smallest penguin species in the world!

It grows to only 13 inches in height, 17 inches in length, and on average weighs only 3.3 pounds!

While typically only diving up to 2 meters and for 21 seconds, the Little Penguin can dive as deep as 20 meters and can stay under water for as long as 60 seconds!

Home: The Little Blue Penguin breeds along the coast of New Zealand, the Chatham Islands, and southern Australia.
Populations have also been reported in certain areas of Chile and South Africa.

Physical Features: Like all penguins, the Little Blue Penguin has flippers instead of wings. Their belly is white while their head and back side are a grayish blue. Their feet are pink with black soles and webbing.

Behavior: Little Blue Penguins are no stranger to the ocean. They spend all day at sea from sunrise to hunting into the evening, but they also spend time on land.

Little Blue Penguins live in large year-long colonies. The female penguin matures at 2 years old and the male matures at 3 years old.

Each mating partner makes burrows on land to raise their chicks. Partners remain faithful to each other only during breeding seasons.

The Little Penguin has a long life span for a sea bird, living up to 6.5 years in the wild and up to 25 years in captivity.
 
Food: Little Penguins swim and dive extensively to hunt for fish, squid and other small sea creatures.

Conservation status: Fortunately, their conservation status is at the “least concern” level which means that they are not endangered!  There are roughly 350,000-600,000 little penguins world wide.

Predators, including cats, dogs, and reptiles, are their biggest threat. Many measures are taken to protect colonies of little blue penguins from predators such as using sheepdogs to ward off foxes and wild dogs.

Commerson’s dolphin

Scientific name: Cephalorhynchus commersonii  

Home: Commerson’s dolphin lives in the southern coast of South America-  Argentina, the Strait of Magellan and near the Falkland Islands- and near the Kerguelen Islands in the Indian ocean. Unfortunately, Commerson’s dolphin lives very close to shore so it often gets tangled in fishing nets and gear in coastal areas.

Physical Features: Commerson’s dolphin is a super cute, black and white dolphin: Its head, front fins, dorsal fin, and fluke are black; It’s body and front side are white. These dolphins are very small and only grow to around 5 ft in length. The smallest dolphin ever known was a 4.5 ft, 51 lb female found in Patagonia.

Commerson’s dolphin is said to resemble a Porpoise more so than a typical dolphin but its behavior is dolphin-esque none the less!The sexes are distinguished by a black spot on their bellies- females have a round spot and males have a tear-drop shaped spot.

Food: They are active predators and eat a wide array of sea food. They mainly feed on small fish as well as invertebrates such as krill, squid, cuttlefish, crab, shrimp, and squid.

Conservation Status: Not much is known about the Commerson’s dolphin’s conservation status and it is listed as ”Data Deficient” on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species. However, it has the most abundant populations of the genus Cephalorhynchus.

Fun Facts:

- Commerson’s dolphin is named after Philibert Commerson who first described them in 1767 after spotting them in the Strait of Magellan

- It is also known as Skunk Dolphin, Piebald Dolphin and Panda Dolphin!!

- These dolphins live to be at least 18 years old in the wild and more than 20 years old at SeaWorld!

Leatherback Turtle

Scientific name: Dermochelys coriacea

Home: This enormous marine animal has the largest range of all reptiles and can be can found in tropical, subtropical and even frigid arctic waters around the world. The leatherback spends most of its time in the open seas looking for food. It prefers to mate and nest on beaches adjacent to deeper waters and tends to avoid beaches near coral reefs.

Physical features: The leatherback is the largest of all turtles and can weigh over 2000 lbs. It also has the largest flippers out of all its turtle relatives. They extend out of its tear-shaped body and grow up to 9 feet in length. The leatherback’s other distinguishing characteristic, besides its enormous size, is its lack of bony carapace or hard shell. In lieu of the typical turtle shell our marine friend has a oily leathery osteoderms  (a layer of skin embedded with bony deposits). Its shell is grayish black while its underside tends to be of a lighter hue. The sharp point on it’s beak, the tomium , is what this marine creature uses to rip apart its food. The backwards spines in the back of its throat help it swallow its prey.

Food: The leatherback turtle spend the majority of their day hunting the only thing they like to eat, jellyfish. They eat twice their weight daily! Sadly many times the leatherback mistake plastic debris such as plastic bags and balloons for jellyfish. Even ingesting the slightest amount of plastic can obstruct their digestive tracts and be fatal.

Conservation status: Critically endangered

FunFacts:
• One of the largest threats to the leatherback population is the fact that many people collect its eggs for food! #NotSoFunFact
• The leatherback will travel as far as 12, 000 miles to lay its eggs!
• The Leatherback turtle is one of the deepest diving living mammals. It can reachdepths of over 4,200 ft!

Great Barracuda

Scientific Name: Sphyraena barracuda

Family: Sphyraenidae

Home: This aggressive marine predator can primarily be spotted at or near the surface of the ocean. The juveniles tend to hang out in mangroves, shallow sheltered inner reef areas and estuaries while the adults venture further out to the open seas. The Great Barracuda is native to subtropical and tropical waters of the Red Sea, the Indo-Pacific region extending from the eastern coast of Africa to the coast of Hawaii as well as to the Eastern and Western Atlantic regions (including the Caribbean Sea).

Characteristics: The Great Barracuda resembles a torpedo with its large pointed head and elongated body. It can reach a length of 6ft and can weigh up to 100 lbs. Its large mouth possesses strong and jagged fang-like teeth. This formidable predator has an extremely powerful jaw with the lower portion sticking out beyond the upper. The coloration of the Great Barracuda ranges from dark green to a silvery blue, often darker lines and blotches cover the sides of its body.

Food: The Great barracuda is a ravenous predator and highly skilled marine hunter. This fearsome creature feeds primarily on fish and cephalopods while occasionally gorging on shrimp.  It utilizes a lie-in-wait or ambush technique to catch its prey. The element of surprise, its relatively fast bursts of speed (up to 27 mph), powerful jaw and  razor-sharp teeth are all contributing factors to Great Barracuda’s success in its quest for food.

Fun Facts:

• Consuming Barracuda meat (even in small amounts) can result in ciguatera food poisoning, a toxin which accumulates from the fish it feeds on!

• When diving in Barracuda infested waters avoid wearing any shiny jeweler since this predator may mistake the glimmer of your watch or ring as its dinner!

• At times, a small group of these fish who are full from their previous meal will stalk a school of prey fish until they are ready for their next feeding!