Shore Buddies webblog
Wisdom Wednesday | Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber
Tiger Tail Sea Cucumbers are the largest sea cucumber in the Western Atlantic. They feed on algae and detritus. Juveniles often mimic sea slugs by crawling around on the bottom slowly filtering sand through their tentacles to gather food. Once older, they can spread their tentacles above them to capture plankton. A number of sea cucumbers feed nocturnally while others feed by day. Sea cucumbers often attract hitch-hikers like shrimps and crabs that crawl over their skin. As a means of defence sea cucumbers can expel their intestines or respiratory organs in the form of sticky threads, but these can quickly regenerate
Wisdom Wednesday | Spotted Seals
It’s no surprise that the spotted seal gets its name from its polka dot-like pattern! Preferring arctic or sub-arctic waters, spotted seals can be found sitting on hauls of ice like the one pictured above!
Wisdom Wednesday | Manta Rays
Unlike their cousin, the stingray, manta rays are completely harmless with their tiny teeth and dormant tail. Additionally, they have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any fish, making them arguably one of the smartest in the sea!
Wisdom Wednesday | Seahorses
Seahorses use camouflage to avoid predators and sneakily attack their prey, which includes a variety of small crustaceans. These animals have eyes that move independently from one another which also helps them to track and ambush prey. They do not have teeth or stomachs, so they must eat almost constantly to survive.
Wisdom Wednesday | Garden Eel
Garden Eels live in colonies of up to 700 individuals and burrow in the sand of the ocean floor, using mucus from their bodies to prevent the sand around them from collapsing. These eels tend to stay in their individual burrows, rarely leaving to catch their prey, zooplankton, that floats by them.
Wisdom Wednesday | Hawaiian Monk Seal
Hawaiian Monk Seals got their name because the folds on their skin look similar a monk’s cowl. Additionally, like a monk, these seals tend to live in solitary. When these seals are born, they are black in color. They turn to shades of gray and brown as they mature.
Wisdom Wednesday | Humpback Whales
When a Humpback whale is born, it can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and reach up to 15 feet in length. These young whales, called calves, stay with their mothers to nurse for anywhere between 6 to 10 months, until they are about 24 to 27 feet long.
How dads and playtime have a role in tackling the climate crisis
How dads and playtime have a role in tackling the climate crisis
If Greta Thunberg and the School Strike for Climate movement have shown us anything in recent years, it’s that children are the future of the fight against the climate crisis. The millions of teens that have taken a stand over the past few years are the ones...