Category: Ocean Critters

  • Cristina the shark tamer

    From the SM archives; [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK2LpUoqX6A[/youtube]  

  • Crochet Wunderkammer

    I am in love with Jessica Polka’s collection of strange creatures, each rendered in soft and colorful yarns. Much of her inspiration seems to come from the ocean – from squids to narwhals to coral, and even single-celled plankton. I never thought I’d find myself calling an anglerfish “cute,” but by golly… check out this…

  • Lionfish – You’ve gotta eat them to beat them

    Time for a quick break from the serious stuff. Here’s a silly musical interlude with a catchy tune and an important message (I must admit I had to look up what panko is – never heard of it!). [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUh46605zPs&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

  • Photos from a rarely seen paradise

    In the wake of John Bruno’s report from the Galapagos, I bring you happier news from the Equatorial Pacific, nearly five thousand miles farther west: there are still wildernesses on Earth. I was lucky enough to spend May and June in the engine room of a sailboat heading south from Honolulu, as crew with the…

  • Treasures of the White Sea

      I’ve just discovered this fabulous gallery of exquisite images by Russian underwater photographer Alexander Semenov. Alexander works in a place that most of us have never heard of, and few would dream of as hosting some of the beautiful animals that he’s virtually captured — the White Sea, an embayment of the Arctic Ocean…

  • Sea monster proves to be a regular animal

    The mystery is solved. After more than a week of holding their collective breath, sea monster enthusiasts throughout the world can now rest easy, albeit a bit deflated. The serpentine 30-foot creature that washed up on a Scottish beach has been identified by a crack team from the Scottish Agricultural College. Alas, it appears that…

  • How to spot a mimic octopus

    Love this ID chart from xkdc. HT to Ben Shearon.

  • Humpback whale speaks, says “Thank you”

    Well, maybe not in so many words. Not in English anyway. But to those who believe that animals don’t experience emotions–and I gather they still exist–I challenge you to watch this and tell me you don’t understand how the whale feels [Show starts about 6:30 in] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBYPlcSD490[/youtube] P.S. Don’t try this at home kids.

  • Great white shark jumps into research vessel

    Talk about jumping the shark – from the Guardian…  And what a fiasco.  Hat tip to Adrian Stier. Marine researchers in South Africa had a narrow escape after a three-metre-long great white shark breached the surface of the sea and leapt into their boat, becoming trapped on deck for more than an hour. The incident occurred while…

  • Helen Arney sings ‘Animals’ (with moderate levels of fish-related naughtiness)

    I’ve just about finished washing off the mud after spending the weekend getting rained on in a field in Suffolk (England). Among the festival of delights at Latitude – awesome music, literature, comedy etc  – was the wonderful songwriter/comedian/science geek Helen Arney. Here’s Helen singing about animals and the things they get up to make…