Posted by: panningforgod | June 17, 2008

Seals Use Astronomy as Navigation Aid

A baby Harp Seal - when he grows up, he could be an astronomer (Care2.com)

Apparently, they’re capable of doing more than bouncing balls on their noses and starring in adorable posters.

Seals can orient themselves and navigate to some degree using the stars as a guide. That’s a heck of a lot more than I can do, or most humans, who rely on computerized voices to find their way around these days.

Seals Use Astronomy as Navigation Aid
In a revealing study, researchers at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense have discovered that seals have the ability to recognise stars and groups of stars inside a modified planetarium. A five-metre round pool plus two harbour seals were covered with a dome with 6000 point light sources to simulate the Northern Hemisphere’s starry sky.

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Responses

  1. Just came across your blog. Write something else, darnit… You’re onto something here! I don’t mean just this post in particular, but the blog in general.


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