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Steller’s Sea Cow
Have you ever met a prodigious manatee or dugong? Georg Wilhelm Steller has, this marine mammal was called Steller’s sea cow. This prehistoric animal was discovered in 1741 and disappeared from the face of the earth in 1768. Steller’s sea cow is an important animal to learn about because of the way they looked, the time period they lived in, and the surprising facts about them.
One way to understand Steller’s sea cow is to know what they looked like and why. First of all, this prehistoric animal got its name because it looked like a marine cow and was first discovered by Georg Wilhelm Steller. This massive animal was over 30 feet long and weighed over 22,000 pounds. (O’Shea) Steller’s sea cow was a part of the Sirenia order.
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As a matter of fact, many of the animals that still exist from this order are at the risk of extinction, just like Steller’s sea cow. (“Sirenia”) Due to its size, the sea cow was unable to go completely under the water, causing it to become an easy target for hunters. Steller’s sea cow also has a broad horizontal forked tail that, along with its front flippers, propelled it along the shorelines. Steller’s sea cow is a sluggish animal, also making it an easy kill. Although its size and slowness makes it an easy target, Steller’s sea cow can easily be mistaken for a rock because of its color. Dark brown with streaks or spots of white is the color of the sea cow’s rough skin. (O’Shea) As you can see, it’s hard to understand Steller’s sea cow without knowing what it looked like. Another way to understand the sea cow is to know what time period it lived in.
This animal lived in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era. As you may know, that's what time period we live in now. Therefore, the conditions that this animal lived in would be the same as it is today. (O’Shea) Steller’s sea cow can only be found in the northwest Pacific Ocean, so it's low in temperature where the sea cows live. This is uncharacteristic for an animal a part of the Sirenia order, because every other animal in that order is found in tropical areas like Florida. Steller’s sea cow was known for liking the frigid weather it lived in. The sea cow, also, liked that there was fresh and salty waters near its home. (“Sirenia”) Animals, especially massive ones, have a hard time thriving due to human activities, so it’s no surprise that this animal wasn't around for …show more content…
long. The last way to understand an animal is to know any other facts about it.
To start off, Steller’s sea cow is related more to elephants than whales. At the time the sea cow got named, people clearly didn’t realize Steller’s sea cow was related to an elephant. Otherwise, today this prehistoric animal would have been known as Steller’s sea elephant. (Arnold, 139) Another interesting fact is Steller’s sea cow has no teeth. Because it's unable to chew, the sea cow’s diet only contained plankton and algae. (Sirenia”) The last fact is Georg W. Steller was the only scientist to see this marine mammal. Scientists didn’t seem to take this animal seriously, causing this animal's extinction to come quicker than it should've. With the help of other scientists, Steller could have saved the sea cow population and these animals would still exist today. (Arnold, 139) Steller’s sea cow was truly a fascinating animal, and with more time scientist could have made so many more great
discoveries. In conclusion, Steller’s sea cow is certainly an important animal to learn about. It’s unique body structure and the time period it lived in made it truly one of a kind. It is disappointing that after 30 years of existence, it became extinct due to the carelessness of humans. Works Cited Allen, Catherine Judge, et al., editors. “Dugongs, Sea Cows, and Manatees: Sirenia.” Grzimek's Student Animal Life Resource, 17: Mammals: Volume 4, UXL, Detroit, 2005, pp. 828–832. Research in Context, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=MSIC&sw=w&u=germ88101&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE|CX3447500611&asid=2cacf76fb966ff7d93191dd44ec45025. Accessed June 2017. Arnold, Ann. “Sea Eagles and Sea Cows: The Natural History of Bering Island.” Sea Cows, Shamans, and Scurvy: Alaska's First Naturalist: Georg Wilhelm Steller, Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York, 2008, p. 139. O'Shea, Thomas. “Sea Cow.” Britannica School, BasgerLink, www.school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/sea-cow/6643. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
Seaworld is a giant marine life theme park. The greatest attraction to these many theme park would be those killer whales. In fact, these killer whales are the face of the park. As gigant as these mammals are, seaworld is keeping them in some pretty tight quarters. Mr. Jett and Mr.Ventre says “Wild killer whales can swim a hundred miles daily as they socialize, forage, communicate, and breed. In stark contrast, with little horizontal or vertical space in their enclosures, captive orcas swim only limited distances, with most spending many hours surface resting.” The animals don't have the freedom they need. Also when taking the whales out of their natural habit the whales tend to be depressed and not as heath in that situation. They need their freedom in the big ocean blue. Bring them into the small living units, breeding whales in captivity all for the entertainment of humans. At young ages the calves are taken away from their mothers on to a new seaworld park. Mothers of the calves have even been seen denying their offspring.
The first whale to ever be captured was Moby Doll. The capture of Moby Doll was an accident; the purpose of getting this whale was so a sculptor named Samuel Burich could make a life size model for the British Columbia Hall Aquarium. Moby Doll was shot numerous times, but would not die. Since the whale would not die they decided to keep the whale and put it on display. There was little information on how to take care of the whale. Moby Doll did not eat for fifty-five days while being held captive. They were giving the whale the wrong food and when they finally figured it out the whale killed itself a month later. “Stories of Killer Captive Whales”.
The Smilodon, the most recent type of saber tooth cats, went extinct about 10,000 years ago, around the time when Pangea began separating and breaking up. Sabertooth Cats did not go extinct due to lack of prey. However, around 12,000 years ago (end of the late Pleistocene) sabertooth cats, american lions, wooly mammoths and other gigantic creatures considered the “megafauna” went extinct. A die-off called the Quaternary extinction. A popular theory for the extinction is that the changing in climate during the end of the last ice age, human activity, or a combination of both killed off most large
For instance, the whale, the biggest mammal that lives in the water, was found to have had legs and used to dwell on land millions of years ago. While in Pakistan, Phil Gingrich, a geologist and paleontologist, came across a fossil that resembled that of a wolf but had a “bump” on the back of the skull which was found to part of an inner ear,
Mojetta wrote about prehistoric sharks, and the history of these creatures. According to Angelo Mojetta, author of Sharks, Cladoselache genus, one of the first prehistoric sharks, was buried in sediment that kept it preserved. Unlike other sharks, Cladoselache genus had a circle of tiny plates around it’s eyes for protection against it’s victim’s attempts to fight back. These sharks lived over 400 million years ago. Sharks of the past could mostly be identified by their teeth, because shark’s bodies are made of cartilage. Another shark that was focused on was called, Stethacanthus. This shark had a very unique look. Stethacanthus had a brush like decoration on the top of it’s head, and an extra fin like part that had the same bristle like decorations on it. These characteristics were thought to be used as suction cups, to hitch rides from larger fish. One of the most famous sharks that looks like an over...
Rumble Fish is a great book for teens to read. It is a book about younger teens joining gangs. The main character in the book is Rusty-James who is a high school boy that is in a gang and likes to get into fights. Also there is a guy named the Motorcycle Boy who is Rusty’s idol. Some minor characters in the book include Steve who is the best friend of Rusty-James, another character is Smokey who is another good friend of Rusty-James, also Biff who wanted to beat up Rusty-James because they are in different gangs, and always are looking to fight each other.
For 50 years SeaWorld has entertained park guests with numerous stunts involving the majestic sea creature, the orca, also referred to as the killer whale, and their human trainers. What the on-lookers don’t see at these shows is what goes on behind the scenes: how the whales got there in the first place, and the conditions in which they are housed.
Manatees, commonly called Sea Cow, are large aquatic mammals that are found in warm coastal areas, rivers and warm water springs in the Amazon Basin, West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Southeastern United States. Manatees can be found in salt water, fresh water and brackish water. They spend most of their time eating aquatic plants, resting, migrating and nurturing their young. The manatee species has evolved over the last 45 million years. The adult manatee evolved into an average of approximately 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds (Site This).
Today, we see much less of an obvious relationship of the cetaceans to the terrestrial mammals.
Orcas, or killer whales are majestic giants of the sea. They are actually the largest type of dolphin. They have long black bodies with distinct white patches near their eyes. A killer whale can be up to 32 feet or more in length, and weigh up to 12,000 pounds. Females are a bit smaller, but live longer (Gorman). The name “killer whale” apparently came not because it is a vicious whale, but because it preys on whales. They do not have any natural predators, and they are considered the “top dog” of the ocean. Not even the great white shark stands a chance against these superb killers. “Unlike sharks, killer whales are cautious hunters, sometimes spending hours harassing a 1,000-pound sea lion so it can easily be drowned” (Francis). Orcas use many hunting tactics that are unique to their species, which is what makes them invincible.
The "White-Tailed Deer." Ccontario.org. Cornell University, 2001. http://www.cnu.edu/item/cnu Web. The Web.
...ats of the whale are still used in some of today’s industries. These parts of the whale have numerous applications in biotechnology. Some of which include, but are not limited to; candles, oil lamps, soaps, and lubricants. Even though their oils have significance in certain applications, the sperm whale is considered an endangered species. This is primarily because of being over hunted. They also have been known to get caught in fishing nets, subject to pollution, also can be severely affected by ocean debris.
In 2000, Dr. Philip D. Gingerich, a paleontologist from the University of Michigan, and his associates discovered two primitive whale fossils in the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. By dating the limestone located in the Habib Rahi Formation of the Balochistan Province, Gingerich estimated these fossils to be about 47 million years old. According to author David Braun of National Geographic News, “The researchers have classified one, Rodhocetus balochistanensis, as a new species of an existing genus, and the other, Artiocetus clavis, as a new species and new genus” (Braun, 5). The discovery of these two fossils suggests that the closest living relative of these primitive whales could possibly be the modern day hippopotamus. This suggested relationship is based on similarities in the bone structure between the two animals.
The manatee is a large, bulky aquatic mammal with flippered forelimbs and a spatula-shaped tail. Manatees can grow to 12 feet in length and weigh up to 3500 pounds. They may live to be 50 years old. It might be very difficult to imagine, but manatees (also known as 'sea cows') share a common ancestor with elephants, but did not evolve from the elephant, the elephant is considered the manatee's closest living relative. The manatee's vaguely human-like face is sometimes described as one only a mother could love. Indeed, it is difficult to understand how sailors ever mistook a manatee for a beautiful
A poem without any complications can force an author to say more with much less. Although that may sound quite cliché, it rings true when one examines “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Elizabeth’s Bishop’s poem is on an exceedingly straightforward topic about the act of catching a fish. However, her ability to utilize thematic elements such as figurative language, imagery and tone allows for “The Fish” to be about something greater. These three elements weave themselves together to create a work of art that goes beyond its simple subject.