seals

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>

'Extraordinary' Seal Milk May Redefine Baby Formula

Researchers discover bonanza of sugar molecules

(Newser) - Seal pups may be nursing on what amounts to a biochemical powerhouse—and it could someday end up in baby formula. In a new study, researchers found that milk from gray seals contains roughly a third more distinct sugar molecules than human breast milk, and many of those sugars have...

Baby Seal Wanders Into New Zealand Bar

Owner: 'I said, grab the salmon!'

(Newser) - A seal walked into a bar. Or to use a technical term, it galumphed. The creature was apparently lost, curious, and well below New Zealand's legal drinking age. It lodged itself under the dishwasher and showed no interest in calling a cab. It was a wet, lazy Sunday evening...

For Seals on One Island, a 'Bleak' Future May Await

Bird flu has wiped out nearly half of South Georgia's female breeding elephant seals

(Newser) - Nearly half of the breeding female elephant seals on South Georgia, a remote island near Antarctica, have died in a bird flu outbreak, according to a new study published in the journal Communications Biology . Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey used drones to survey the island's three largest breeding...

Hunted by Orcas, Seal Hitches a Ride

Photographer has video of seal that jumped onto her boat off Seattle to avoid a pod of killer whales

(Newser) - A wildlife photographer out on a whale-watching trip in waters off Seattle captured dramatic video and photos of a pod of killer whales hunting a seal that survived only by clambering onto the stern of her boat. Charvet Drucker was on a rented 20-foot vessel near her home on an...

Scientists Now Testing Bird Flu Vaccine for Seals

Researchers move quickly in hope of shielding endangered monk seals

(Newser) - Hawaii's endangered monk seals could receive new protection from the bird flu if all goes well with a vaccine trial. Veterinarians in California have started a small-scale trial to test a bird flu vaccine on marine mammals, focusing first on six northern elephant seals at the Marine Mammal...

Thrown Overboard, He Found a Buoy Covered in Seals
Thrown Overboard,
He Found a Buoy
Covered in
Seals
in case you missed it
Aug 16, 2025 4:20 PM CDT

Thrown Overboard, He Found a Buoy Covered in Seals

California fisherman held on for 7 hours, leading to his rescue

(Newser) - Alone in cool waters off California's Central Coast, a 29-year-old fisherman survived a harrowing night by clinging to a buoy for nearly seven hours—with several seal companions. The Morro Bay Police Department said John Gsell's boat "struck a large object" around 10pm on Friday, sending...

NOAA Is Investigating Disturbing Attack on Seal Pup

Young elephant seal was stabbed multiple times in cove in Oregon

(Newser) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement is trying to track down somebody who stabbed an elephant seal pup multiple times. NOAA says the 300-pound seal pup survived the attack in a cove in Neskowin, Oregon, on March 16. It was attacked some time between 8:...

Hairy Skin Covering Medieval Texts Traveled Quite a Ways

Seal fur harvested by Norse might have appeared 'quite magical' to Europe's monks

(Newser) - A set of medieval manuscripts detailing real and imagined creatures was bound in the skin of a slippery animal that hailed far from the books' creators, according to new research that reveals an extensive medieval trade network. Bestiaries, a type of animal encyclopedia, were popular in medieval Europe and often...

Sad Ending to Story of Baby Seal Rescued Off Street

Underweight baby seal found wandering the streets of New Haven has died

(Newser) - A baby seal found stranded on a street near Connecticut's Yale University last month has died from severe digestive issues, a local aquarium announced Monday. Mystic Aquarium said "Chappy," a nod to Chapel Street in New Haven where he was rescued, died while recovering at its Animal...

Whale-Watchers Spot Seal in Humpback's Mouth

Seemingly bewildered animal soon swam out

(Newser) - It's a good thing seals aren't on a humpback whale's menu. A photograph by a whale-watching naturalist captured a seemingly bewildered seal in the mouth of a humpback whale after the giant marine mammal accidentally gulped it last Thursday in the waters off Anacortes, Washington, the AP...

Bird Flu Continues to Wreak Havoc, Killing Seals Worldwide

Tens of thousands of seals, sea lions have died, and scientists aren't sure how to slow the spread

(Newser) - Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus . The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of...

'Hundreds' of Dead Seals Block Antarctic Explorer's Grave

Virus has taken a heavy toll on South Georgia's wildlife

(Newser) - Passengers who'd hoped to walk with penguins on a cruise around the Antarctic Peninsula and the island of South Georgia weren't allowed to go ashore, but they witnessed distressing scenes of animals that had been killed by a bird flu outbreak in the region. Passenger Astrid Saunders tells...

Hundreds of Animal Species Hit by 'Catastrophic' Flu Strain

Elephant seals, seabirds, and now a polar bear—could humans be hit hard next with H5N1?

(Newser) - "It is catastrophic ... the largest die-off for the species, period." That's how Martin Mendez, a marine biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, describes to the Washington Post the fate of hundreds of elephant seals last fall in Argentina, found dead along the shore of the Valdes Peninsula....

Reward Offered After 'Hateful Act' Involving Young Seal

Endangered Hawaiian monk seal Malama was found dead of blunt-force trauma on Oahu

(Newser) - An endangered Hawaiian monk seal rescued as a severely malnourished pup was released back into the wild and subsequently killed by a human, officials say. The female juvenile known as Malama, officially dubbed RQ76, was found dead on Oahu's Ohikilolo Beach on March 12, just two months after her...

A Fugitive Seal Turns Himself In to Cops

Shoebert eluded capture, then showed up at police station in Beverly, Massachusetts

(Newser) - A gray seal that wandered into a Massachusetts pond and evaded authorities’ attempts to capture him turned himself after waddling up to the local police station, per the AP . The gray seal first appeared earlier this month in Shoe Pond in the city of Beverly, northeast of Boston. The animal...

Seal Breaks Into Marine Biologist's Home

'Missed my time to shine,' says New Zealand's Phil Ross, who wasn't home at time of break-in

(Newser) - Phil Ross loves the sea—so much so that he became a marine biologist and moved into a home just 500 feet from the shoreline. That proximity to the ocean brought the New Zealander and his family a surprise visitor on Wednesday morning, when a juvenile fur seal slipped inside...

Protective Monk Seal Attacks Swimmer Who Got Too Close

The 60-year-old woman suffered lacerations to her face, arm, and back

(Newser) - A swimmer at a beach in Waikiki was injured this weekend after encountering an endangered Hawaiian monk seal known as Rocky and her young pup. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement that the victim is a 60-year-old elementary school teacher from California. A witness...

Mystery of Seal Strandings May Be Solved

Tests confirm dead seals in Maine had avian flu

(Newser) - The avian flu epidemic appears to have claimed its first known marine mammal victims in North America. The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed four Maine seals who died or had to be euthanized tested positive for the virus, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday. Officials tested the...

'Oh, Welcome Little Thing': Rare Birth Captured in Hawaii

There are only 1,400 Hawaiian monk seals in the world

(Newser) - Images of a Hawaiian monk seal being born on an Oahu beach have been captured on camera—a fact made more notable because it's an endangered species. An employee of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources shot video and photos of the pup emerging from the mother...

In This Long Island Town, an 'Unusual 911 Call'

Police help rescue baby seal from Southampton traffic circle

(Newser) - Police in an East End town on Long Island received what LongIsland.com deems a most "unusual 911 call" over the weekend. Sgt. Jim Cavanagh of the Southampton Town Police Department tells CNN a seal was spotted on Sunday by residents, sliding through a parking lot in the hamlet...

Stories 1 - 20 |  Next >>
Most Read on Newser