do seals need to be taught to swim? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 09-14-2006, 09:19 AM

i am reading the 1904 book of jack london "the sea-wolf". in it the discussion of whether seals knew how to swim from birth or needed to be taught came up.

so which is it?

i am thinking they need to be taught, but learn readily.

tom w

POS · #2 09-14-2006, 10:13 AM

No idea - since it's basic for their survival, I would think they'd be born with the ability to swim. But using that logic, birds would be born with the ability to fly.

John Doe · #3 09-14-2006, 10:49 AM

Evolution must benefit man as well--How could you possibly expect to club a seal if it could swim away?

#4 09-14-2006, 11:08 AM

PinnipediaHarbor Seal

HARBOR SEAL
Phoca vitulina
meaning of Latin name: calf-like seal

DESCRIPTION: Harbor seals have spotted coats in a variety of shades from silver-gray to black or dark brown. They reach five to six feet (1.7-1.9 m) in length and weigh up to 300 pounds (140 kg). Males are slightly larger than females. They are true or crawling seals, having no external ear flaps. True seals have small flippers and must move on land by flopping along on their bellies. In San Francisco Bay, many harbor seals are fully or partially reddish in color. This may be caused by an accumulation of trace elements such as iron or selenium in the ocean or a change in the hair follicle.

RANGE/HABITAT: Harbor seals are found north of the equator in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In the northeast Pacific, they range from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. They favor near-shore coastal waters and are often seen at sandy beaches, mudflats, bays, and estuaries.

MATING AND BREEDING: In California, harbor seal pups are born in March and April and weigh about 30 pounds at birth. If born prematurely, harbor seals retain a whitish lanugo coat (which is usually lost before birth). A pup can swim at birth, and will sometimes ride on its mother's back when tired. Pups make a bleating noise that sounds like "maaaa." After about four weeks, the pups are weaned. Adult females usually mate and give birth every year. They may live 25 to 30 years.

BEHAVIOR: Harbor seals spend about half their time on land and half in water, and they sometimes sleep in the water. They can dive to 1,500 feet (457 m) for up to 40 minutes, although their average dive lasts three to seven minutes and is typically shallow. They are opportunistic feeders, eating sole, flounder, sculpin, hake, cod, herring, octopus, and squid.

While harbor seals swim safely in the surf, they will often curiously watch humans walking on beaches. However, they are wary of people while on land, and will rush into the water if approached too closely or disturbed. In fact, if disturbed too often, they have been known to abandon favorite haul-out sites or their pups.

STATUS: The total harbor seal population in the eastern north Pacific is estimated to be 330,000, and in California the estimated population was 40,000 in 1997. They are usually found in small groups, but sometimes occur in numbers of up to 500.

AT THE MARINE MAMMAL CENTER: From approximately mid-February through the end of June, The Marine Mammal Center's rescue and rehabilitation work is mainly focused around the care of harbor seal and elephant seal pups. Each year people find harbor seal pups on shore and pick them up, thinking the pups have been abandoned. Usually they are not abandoned; the mothers are just out hunting or watching nearby. This problem has caused many seals to be unnecessarily orphaned. These pups are then at further risk because they are unable to get needed antibodies from their mothers' milk, making them more susceptible to diseases. When they are being cared for at The Marine Mammal Center they are kept in an area away from the other animals so they do not catch other diseases. If you see a harbor seal pup alone on a beach, remember to call The Marine Mammal Center at 415. 289.7325 to find out what to do.

cmac2012 · #5 09-14-2006, 12:06 PM

Side note, ya ever seen a seal's teeth?

Good thing they're bashful...

t walgamuth · #6 09-14-2006, 05:55 PM

cool.

thanks, med.

tom w

BOMC · #7 09-19-2006, 11:13 PM

if a seal can be taught to swim then it is capable of complex thought processes of which animals are not. instinctively knowing how to swim is much more suited with an animal's low level of intelligence.

thats what i'm taught, but the more i observe and think about animals and their intelligence i have to think that what they do goes beyond simple responses.

but with the seal, my guess is that it 'knows' how to swim.

t walgamuth · #8 09-19-2006, 11:29 PM

yes.

happened to think of something i saw a year or so ago. a guy had a nice shiny pickup loaded with about a dozen sheets of plywood. they were lying in the bed with the gate down. not tied in. he had a largish dog, a shepard i think, riding back there loose. the dog was sitting on the plywood.

when the genius took off the plywood started sliding out the back. it sort of spread out as it went kindof like cards when a card shark flips a deck out and they just spread out like feathers on a birds wing.

now the dog kindof was riding the plywood down. the specific thing i was remembering today was the look on the dog's face. he had this look that was puzzled and kindof disgusted all at once.

i was thinking if i had been in the dogs position i would have been having about the same feelings he appeared to be feeling.

by the way, it is a really bad idea to have a dog in the back of a pickup unless in a cage.

my first cousin had a reallly nice irish setter that he loved. he was riding along one day with it back there. now he knew that the dog might jump out if he saw a squirrel or such so he had it tied in back there with a leash. anyway the inevitable happened and unfortunately the leash was just long enough for the dog to get outside of the bed.

i never learned the details but the dog died and my cousin would not go into any more detail than that.

so put them inside or in a cage please.

and no people riding back there loose either. yikes!

tom w