DONT buy fur this Christmas

It is making a comeback! Fur coats are now creeping back to becoming in vogue again. The hideous coat in the photo above is made out of otter. It costs about $1K and is being sold online. I found it at eBay, Amazon and other venues. You see people will buy something online that they don't have to pass through a line of protesters in front of a fur coat store.

Don't be a sneaky online shopper and buy fur clothing made from baby seals or otters. Spend Cyber Monday supporting a good cause instead of supporting an industry that should have died decades ago.

Weird ads showing up

I just changed the layout of the blog and for some odd reason I am getting Google ads for fast food places, travel and hoodia diet pills. I guess the Google ad bot can't figure out that this is a sea life blog, not sea food blog. I guess I had better put the words whales, boats, ocean and aquariums in this post so it gets a better idea.

Kelp can be good for you

Kelp is one of the most common salt water plants. Commonly known as seaweed, because of its rapid growth rate, kelp is found in most of the world's oceans. Large areas of kelp growing are called kelp "forests." Sea otters just love making their home among the long strands of kelp and humans harvest kelp for a multitude of products.

Kelp is dried and eaten, it is added to supplements, weight loss pills, pet foods and even cosmetics. Kelp is high in vitamin C as well as lesser known trace elements.

Kelp also has another very important role in the world's ecology. It helps oxygenate the worlds oceans so that ocean life can survive and it gives off oxygen into the atmosphere.

Sea kelp and myths

Sea kelp is that long wide aquatic plant that is often called sea weed. Kelp is not really a plant as we know land plants but a form of algae. Kelp is used by humans in many ways. We eat it, make it into diet supplements and even make biodegradable clothing out of it. Along with the mass use of sea kelp there is also a lot of false claims about it. It will not make you younger again, it will not rid you of worms (I heard that one a few years back), it is not any kind of recommended dermatologist acne treatments nor is it a miracle cancer cure. Yes it does have some benefits but it is not a cure for everything under the sun.

Since it is an algae, it grows very fast and can be harvested rather heavily. It is also the home to the world's sea otters and they love it.

Travel to Tasmania

About the only thing people think about when they hear the name Tasmania is the cartoon character, The Tasmanian Devil. Often people's thoughts do not wander much farther than that. When asked where Tasmania is the answers would amaze you. Answers like Africa to somewhere near Transylvania and a few actually do know the right answer, off the coast of Australia.

Being a island, Tasmania has a large coast line. Climate ranges from arid and dry in the interior to mild and wet on the southern half of the island. If you are ever lucky enough to visit the island you will want to go on one of the many Tasmania tours that local companies offer. I personally would be interested in the company that runs "Sealife Experience" which is located 1 hour form Hobart and takes people on tours of the islands sea life habitats.

Hair loss in marine mammals

Hair and fat are the ways that nature insulates both land and sea mammals. Both fat and hair keep the body from losing precious heat during either the colder months or living in colder seas. For sea mammals they either have long hair or extra fat, known as blubber, to insulate their bodies from losing heat.

The larger the sea mammal the less hair they tend to have. Whales and dolphins have very minimal hair while sea otters have plenty of hair. Hair loss in the smaller marine mammals can spell death from exposure. When a large population of marine mammals is suffering from excessive hair loss something is either wrong with the environment or a disease might be the cause. Marine biologists must work fast to see what the underlying cause it and best determine what hair loss treatment to put in place. Can the cause be removed or should the mammals be treated?

Sometimes the cause has been in the environment for years and only time and future prevention can cure the ailment.

New sea otter study

Sea otters don't always eat the same thing. They are very adaptable. Aren't most animals adaptable? Interesting article.

Stop killing sea otters with cat litter

Did you know that a bacteria found in cat litter boxes is killing sea otters? How did that bacteria find it’s way to the ocean? Some cat owners flush the used kitty litter down the toilet. That’s how the bacteria is finding it’s way to the ocean. This bacteria is deadly to sea otters. Do sea otters a favor and don’t flush used cat litter down the toilet.