Elephant seals dive for science

[Maggy J]

Absolutely fascinating reading!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4736196.stm

I'm astounded at what these creatures can do..

Their tracked journeys have thrown new light on their wandering, where they go to feed and, amazingly, how they appear to use the frontal systems to navigate and find resources.

Adults will spend perhaps less than 10% of their time at the surface, preferring instead to swim below water for 30 minutes to an hour.
"They must have some way to reduce their metabolic rate when they are diving, shutting down most of their systems and resting as they go," said Biuw.
"So, they would go to sleep in transit and then they wake up down at 1,500m and hope there is squid there for them to eat."

What tremendous abilities they seem to have.

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Absolutely fascinating reading!

What tremendous abilities they seem to have.

I agree - 200 times atmospheric pressure - that is 3000 lb/sq inch in old money, and they don't seem to be affected by the 'bends', either

[greencreeper]

I was wondering about mating. If a bloke went out on a Saturday night with a thing not too unlike a knob sticking out of his head, he wouldn't see much action that night. Do the lady seals still like the gentleman seals when they look a bit, er, daft? Has anyone thought of this?

[marky]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I was wondering about mating. If a bloke went out on a Saturday night with a thing not too unlike a knob sticking out of his head, he wouldn't see much action that night. Do the lady seals still like the gentleman seals when they look a bit, er, daft? Has anyone thought of this?

Struth man, everybody has hands free

[danielf]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I was wondering about mating. If a bloke went out on a Saturday night with a thing not too unlike a knob sticking out of his head, he wouldn't see much action that night. Do the lady seals still like the gentleman seals when they look a bit, er, daft? Has anyone thought of this?

Errm, the thing looks about 10cm long, and .5 cm wide (slightly more at the bottom), and you think it's 'not too unlike a knob'? Have you been out much lately?

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I was wondering about mating. If a bloke went out on a Saturday night with a thing not too unlike a knob sticking out of his head, he wouldn't see much action that night. Do the lady seals still like the gentleman seals when they look a bit, er, daft? Has anyone thought of this?

there is no light, 2km down - but having a protuberence may serve to differentiate the individual ?

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by greencreeper

I was wondering about mating. If a bloke went out on a Saturday night with a thing not too unlike a knob sticking out of his head, he wouldn't see much action that night. Do the lady seals still like the gentleman seals when they look a bit, er, daft? Has anyone thought of this?

Trust you to bring things down to gutter level...

[greencreeper]

Originally Posted by danielf

Errm, the thing looks about 10cm long, and .5 cm wide (slightly more at the bottom), and you think it's 'not too unlike a knob'? Have you been out much lately?

Maybe it's the men I meet

Originally Posted by homealone

there is no light, 2km down - but having a protuberence may serve to differentiate the individual ?

So it's like a giant dark room then In which case the males already have a protuberence to differentiate them, and the feel of a second might give the lady seal the impression she's in for the time of her life. But as always, expectation and reality are sadly greatly divided.

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Trust you to bring things down to gutter level...

Not at all I saw the picture and the first thought in my mind was that the seal looked a bit daft, which led me to thinking about whether it affected attractiveness.