By: Sammy Wang
Nathan Angelakis, a doctoral student at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences) and the University of Adelaide, has recorded a fascinating scene of a mother Australian sea lion teaching her pup how to hunt, with the help of his colleagues, Daphne, Phoebe, Pasithea, and Iris.
This was done by placing an underwater video camera on the mother. Having gained approval from marine conservation authorities, the team was able to put another four cameras onto other sea lions. This was done when the sea lions were on shore and resting.
With the camera being able to locate where the sea lions were, the researchers had no difficulties finding the sea lions when they re-emerged from the ocean. With the recorded information, they were able to learn more about the life of sea lions. From teaching young pups their ways and learning more about their habitats, it was exciting information for them.
Dan Costa, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said that the idea was a great way of seeing more of the animals, to see their perspective.
“The more we learn about them, the better chance we’ll have to manage them and protect them,” Costa added. “It’s just a really cool, interesting animal, and so it deserves a place in the world.”
Megan Leftwich, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at George Washington University, is studying how sea lions move. She’s also trying to recreate the motion with robotics. Specifically, the sea lions’ fins, called the soft robotic fore-flipper.
“If we could understand how sea lions move, one day we could design vehicles that could one day stealthy explore shipwrecks, underwater mines or unexplored caves.” Leftwich said.
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