Pearson College Marine Science

On Saturday 13 September, many students observed or got directly involved in the necropsy of the little female harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) that we found in the mudflats last week.

With permission from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we examined the body of the seal inside and out…

Two students, Haruna & Mariam, carefully teased apart the small intestine, stretched it out and measured it to be 12.8 m long.  All that intestine in a seal that was only 0.82 m long!

We did examine many organs but could not determine the cause of death.

A very unique opportunity for many Pearson College students! Thanks to all involved including the many photographers.

This is one of my favourite photos from the event… the lens from one of the eyes, which you may be able to see has inverted the image behind it.

Tags: Harbour seal, necropsy, Phoca vitulina, year 40, year 41

This entry was posted on September 16, 2014 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Events, Fun Activities, Marine organisms, Scientific Data. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.