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| Harbor
Seal |
(Phoca
vitulina) |
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Description:
Grayish spotted short-haired pelt. They have a small doglike
head and face with large brown eyes. Small foreflippers, and
non-rotating hind flippers. Lack external ears. Sexes similar
in size and appearance. A year-round resident often seen floating
with head out of water, or hauled out onto a beach warming in
the sun. During summer and fall pups are sometimes left by mother
on local beaches while she hunts. Length to 6 feet. |
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| Food:
Eats a wide variety of bottom fish, herring, and perch. Also
eats squid and octopus. |
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| Reproduction:
Females give birth to a single pup on land in the summer, which
is also mating season. |
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| Fun
Facts: Harbor Seals can dive to 300 feet, and stay
underwater for 20 minutes! |
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| California
Sea Lion |
(Zalophus
californianus) |
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Description:
Dark brown pelt. Face dog-like with pointed muzzle. Male forehead
has noticeable bump. Small external ears visible. Large foreflippers,
and rotatable hind flippers. Can be seen, and heard, on beaches,
breakwaters and buoys in Puget Sound. Females to 5.5 feet and
250 pounds; Males grow to 8 feet and can reach 900 pounds, but
average 200 to 400 pounds. |
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| Food:
Feeds on schooling fish, including hake, herring, pollock, squid,
salmon and steelhead trout. |
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| Reproduction:
Breeds only off the Mexican and Californian coast from May to
June. |
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| Fun
Facts: Can stay submerged for 20 minutes. |
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| Orca
(Killer whale) |
(Orcinus
orca) |
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Description:
Largest member of the dolphin family. Mostly black, with white
patches behind eye, under jaw and under tail. Large paddle-shaped
flippers. Males have a tall dorsal fin. Jaws full of conical
teeth. Uses echo-location for navigation. Large vocal repertory.
Family groups known as pods. Can travel up to 100 miles per
day. Females to 23 feet and 8 tons; Males to 30 feet and 11
tons. |
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| Food:
Feeds on salmon, rockfish, cods and squid. |
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| Reproduction:
Males reach sexual maturity in late teens. Females can give
birth every 3 years or so starting in mid-teens. |
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| Fun
Facts: Males can live for 50 years, and females
can live to 80 years! Found in all the world's oceans. |
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| River
Otter |
(Lutra
canadensis) |
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Description:
Brown sleek fur, webbed feet, and long tail. Active and playful,
this weasel relative is common along the local shoreline and
marsh. Unlike the Sea Otter, this otter never floats on its
back. Common vocalization is a shrill whistle. Grows to over
4 feet, and 30 pounds. |
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| Food:
Hunts crabs, fishes, shrimps, and small birds. |
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| Reproduction:
The young live in the nest for 10 to 12 weeks before venturing
out into the world accompanied by their mother. |
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| Fun
Facts: Fur among the densest of any mammal on earth. |
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| Tidepool
Sculpin |
(Oligocottus
maculosus) |
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Description:
Found in tidepools. Variable colors; usually green punctuated
by five irregular dark saddle-like markings across back. Large
eyes. Shaped like a tadpole at first glance. Tolerant of wide
variation in water temperatures, salinity and oxygen content.
Can even survive out of water for short periods. Length to 4
inches. |
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| Food:
Eats small crustaceans, and detritus. |
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| Reproduction:
Female lays eggs. |
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| Fun
Facts: This fish can often "smell" its
way back to its home tidepool if displaced! |
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| Penpoint
Gunnel |
(Apodichthys
flavidus) |
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Description:
Color varies with habitat and diet. Mostly bright green, sometimes
red, yellow, or brown. Found under rocks and in eelgrass bed
on intertidal beaches. Has a sharp spine at base of anal fin
- the "penpoint." Length to 18 inches. |
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| Food:
Eats tiny invertebrates, and other small creatures. |
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| Reproduction:
Spawns in winter at lowest levels of intertidal beaches. Male
wraps around eggs. |
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| Fun
Facts: Not a true eel. |
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| Pacific
Sand Lance |
(Ammodytes
hexapterus) |
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Description:
Slender long body with long sharp lower jaw. Color iridescent
green or gray above, silvery below. Swims in large schools over
clean sand. May rest on the sand bottom when tired. Burrows
into the sand at night, or when disturbed. Eaten by salmon and
other large fish. Length to 8 inches. |
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| Food:
Eats a variety of small organisms, especially crustaceans and
planktonic fish larvae. |
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| Reproduction:
Female lays eggs. |
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| Fun
Facts: This fish lacks a swim bladder, so it must
constantly swim to maintain its position. |
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Copyright
© 2008-2009 City of Edmonds, Washington - All Rights Reserved |
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