As of now, there are 132 different species of marine mammals in the world. These animals are lumbed together because of their life style but they don’t actually have a lot of things in common. Yes, they all are mammals. That means there are certain characteristics that all of them share with other mammals, marine…
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Butt-breathing is a very little known ability of a small group of animals. It is more formally known as enteral respiration or cloacal respiration. It means that the gas exchange occurs in the posterior cavity of the enteral system. Typically this is not the major way for an animal to breathe. However, for some species…
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In July 2020, I worked on a couple of cruises along the Norwegian coast. One day in Melfjorden, beyond the Arctic Circle, we came across a dead whale. The carcass had started decomposing and was floating at the surface. It looked white as the skin had come off and the body was bleached (I guess…
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This post was inspired by a find at a beach in Spain. You can find so many things when you keep your eyes open – in this case, a Black moray… or, well, at least a part of it (see first two pictures). Moray eels are probably not among the most popular group of animals.…
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What the hell is a Mermaid’s purse? That’s what – back in the days – the egg cases of sharks, rays, and chimaeras (all cartilaginous fish, Chondrichthyes) were called before people figured out what they were. They wash ashore during strong winds and rough seas, where they can be found by curious beachcombers. The egg…
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In this article for Special Tours Iceland, I am focusing on what we have learned about the cultural lives of whales and dolphins. The better we study these animals, the more we realize that they are not that different from us. There are amazing examples of ingenious ideas of how to catch food and other…
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On 31 July 2015, a Humpback whale we had never seen before was sighted on one of the Whale watching tours in Faxaflói, the bay off the coast of Reykjavík. As we carefully approached the animal, our hearts dived: The whale was severely entangled in fishing gear. Some fishing lines were wrapped around its entire…
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EN: In mid-July, I had one of the most special whale watching tours in a while thanks to two minke whales. Minke whales were hunted here in Iceland until very recently, so they can be pretty shy. On some occasions, though, they really show off their inquisitive nature. This video is just a short glimpse…
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For the Special Tours Iceland website, I’ve put together some information about the Killer whales (Orcas) in Icelandic waters. The reason for this was our encounter with two Killer whales on one of our Whale watching tours in early June. Learn more about these two and other Orcas, not only in Iceland but in all…
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EN: You know you got the right job when it doesn’t feel like work 🙂 I love this picture of a penguin approaching me carefully at the end of a landing on one of the South Shetland Islands. Generally, animals in Antarctica aren’t afraid of humans, as this curious Gentoo penguin demonstrates. We keep a…
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