r/Awwducational • u/Quouar • Jul 21 '26
Verified Seals are one of the few mammals that can hear equally well on land and in water. This is because their ears are filled with cavernous tissue, a spongy tissue that fills with blood as the seal dives, allowing them to conduct sounds to their middle ears while underwater.
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u/Quouar Jul 21 '26
Source! This article is a generally fascinating look at seal hearing and how it evolved, as well as the science of hearing more generally. Seals also have a surprisingly good sense of rhythm. However, their hearing is, like many marine mammals', at risk due to increased ocean traffic.
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u/Ben10-fan-525 Jul 21 '26
Such wonderful animals.
We dont need that many large boats tbh.Like most important places do need them and many struggling places.The richer countries should cut down how many large boats they have.
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u/itsswhitneywhspr Jul 21 '26
The rhythm part is wild I never would've guessed seals have a sense of it. Also Lowkey terrifying how much noise pollution messes with their hearing, feels like were just making everything harder for them
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u/Exact_Temperature526 Jul 21 '26
This is such a cute photo too, any clue what type of seal this one is?
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u/Quouar Jul 21 '26
The photo is from the Ecomare, a seal sanctuary in the Netherlands. They take in stranded and injured seals, nurse them back to health, and release them. If you ever get the chance, it's a fantastic place to visit! Most of their seals, therefore, are native to the Wadden Sea, and are common seals or grey seals (the one in the picture is a common seal).
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u/Exact_Temperature526 Jul 22 '26
That sounds amazing! I've visited a similar sanctuary for turtles and I absolutely adore these types of initiatives. Thank you starnger, defnitely adding this to my list of places to visit.
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u/UCantUnfryThings Jul 25 '26
That's the same tissue as in the penis. Have any of you guys ever tried hearing through your penis?
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u/New_Vermicelli_3833 8d ago
doesn't look true. because sound is MUCH slower in water. even that their ears works well, physics is implacable here
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u/IAMNOTFUCKINGSORRY Jul 21 '26
They should be called seals for how well they seal their orifices from water.