True seals are marine mammals of the family Phocidae, within the order Carnivora and suborder Pinnipedia. They are characterized by the absence of external ear pinnae, hind limbs modified into posteriorly oriented flippers that cannot rotate under the body, and highly streamlined bodies adapted for efficient aquatic locomotion using lateral undulation of the trunk and hind flippers. Phocids exhibit extreme diving and thermoregulatory adaptations, including large blubber stores, high myoglobin concentrations, and specialized circulatory control. The family comprises multiple genera (e.g., Phoca, Halichoerus, Mirounga) distributed in polar, temperate, and some tropical waters, occupying diverse ecological niches as primarily piscivorous and cephalopod-feeding predators.
The emperor penguin has been declared an endangered species as climate change pushes the icon of Antarctica a step closer to extinction, the global authority on threatened wildlife announced on Thursday.
Plants & Animals
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When tourists travel to Seattle, it's common to take in the Space Needle and the downtown skyline from Puget Sound.
Ecology
Apr 4, 2026
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When the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus was discovered on a poultry farm in Asia in 1996, there was little indication that it would become so widespread and so destructive. Within 30 years, it reached every ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 19, 2026
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Currently, Australia is the only continent in the world still free from the highly contagious H5 bird flu. But that status faces an ongoing threat.
Veterinary medicine
Mar 2, 2026
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The decline of California's kelp forests since the marine heat wave of 2013–17 has seen only minor recovery despite heroic efforts at restoration carried out by scientists, fishermen, coastal tribes, volunteer divers and ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 24, 2026
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Hundreds of thousands of marine animals are killed every year after becoming accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Sharks, skates and rays are at particular risk, alongside turtles, seals, whales and dolphins, many ...
Ecology
Feb 20, 2026
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More than 50 skuas in Antarctica died from the high pathogenicity avian influenza virus H5N1 in the summers of 2023 and 2024, marking the first documented die-off of wildlife from the virus on the continent. That is confirmed ...
Ecology
Feb 5, 2026
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Every winter about 10,000 elephant seals make their way to California's Año Nuevo State Park to fight, mate and give birth. The spectacle runs from mid-December through March, drawing wildlife watchers eager for a glimpse ...
Ecology
Jan 18, 2026
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New research led by the University of St Andrews has created the most comprehensive maps to date of the distribution of gray and harbor seals in Northwest Europe, encompassing the majority of seal populations on the continental ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 16, 2025
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