Guess what this is... (You can find the answer at the bottom of the page)
What is is the rarest of all sea turtles?
The Kemps
ridley turtle is the rarest of all sea turtles. It weighs
between 80-100 pounds and the mature adult is an olive green color.
They nest in large numbers known as "arribadas."
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The ridleys have
declined significantly in recent years due mainly to predation and
poaching and the fact that their nesting areas have dwindled to a
single beach near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico. In 1947, 40,000 ridleys nested
and in 1981 the number was reduced to less than 500. Ridley turtles
dwell in the waters of the North Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. On
rare occasions, ocean currents have swept ridleys as far as Europe.
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Do turtles get stranded like whales?
Stranding is common problem among sea turtles in the northern Atlantic.
This can occur when a turtle becomes trapped in northern waters during
the winter months. Scientists hypothesize that migration, distribution,
and current patterns may influence these entrapments. Frigid water
temperatures reduce the turtles' body temperatures below normal and
they wash ashore in a condition called cold-stunned. This type of
stranding is not unusual and occurs among loggerhead and ridley sea
turtles. Each winter, several cold-stunned turtles are rescued from
Cape Cod beaches and taken to the New England Aquarium for
rehabilitation as part of the Aquarium's Marine Animal Rescue and
Rehabilitation program.
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Kayakers discover
Leatherback stranded in Barnstable Harbor, Cape CodImage Courtesy of
Thomas N. Kleindinst
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What is the largest sturgeon on record?
630 kg (1387 pounds), taken from the Fraser River opposite New
Westminster, August 14, 1897.
Do sharks have good eyesight?
Yes it is true that sharks do in fact have very good eyesight. In fact,
sharks can see extremely well in dark lighted areas, have fantastic
night vision, and can see colours. Avoid wearing bright colours in the water,
such as oranges and yellows, as sharks can indeed see them.
Are sharks always hungry?
It has been observed that sharks can go up to approximately 6 weeks
without feeding, and the record for a shark fasting was observed with
the Swell Shark, in which it did not eat for 15 months. Sharks can
enter what is called an "eating phase" in which, yes, perhaps the shark
might constitute hunger, but on the grand scale of things, no a shark
does not get hungry.
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Are sharks considered to be a fish?
Sharks are fish. They live in water, and use their gills to filter
oxygen from the water. Sharks are a special type of fish known because
their body is made out of cartilage instead of bones like other fish.
The name, or classification of this type of fish is called
"Elasmobranchs." This category also includes Rays, Sawfish, and Skates"
Do sharks only eat meat?
Sharks are omnivorous, which means they eat both meat and vegetation.
Sharks will eat anything, and if there is not an abundant supply of
meat in the area, they will resort to eating sea vegetation.
The largest shark of them all, the Whale Shark is mainly
a plankton feeder.
Whale Shark
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How many senses do sharks have?
Sharks have 8 unique senses. They are hearing, smell, lateral line, pit
organs, vision, Lorenzini, touch, and taste. The shark shares many
sense that humans do such as taste and smell, but it has three senses
that we do not have. The lateral line, pit organs and Lorenzini are
senses that have been discovered over the past 10 to 20 years, and play
an important role in how the shark functions when swimming around.
