7 of the Friendliest Sea Creatures

not everything that lurks below our waters is a terrifying monster waiting to attack in fact some animals have been known to interact quite well and even bond with humans here are seven of the friendliest secret choose number seven sea lions sea lions are sea mammals that usually live in waters ranging from subarctic to tropical seas worldwide excluding the northern Atlantic Ocean on average they typically measure eight feet in length and weigh up to 650 pounds they are coniferous and usually eat fish such as herring mackerel salmon and other species depending on where they live sea lions are not typically dangerous for humans but they may attack if they feel threatened these mammals are highly intelligent and easy to train so much that they are common zoo in circus animals Galapagos sea lions are often compared to dogs for their friendly behavior these sea lions don't usually flee when encountering humans in fact they even like to approach people and sometimes hop on boats or kayaks as they love to be pet however this is not the case in all regions and most places recommend tourists keep a minimum distance of 8 feet although sea lion attacks are usually rare some species may be unpredictable sometimes human presence and human activities may cause them to engage in violent actions recently in May of 2017 a young girl was snatched by a California sea lion while sitting on the edge of a dock on a Canadian port the girl was immediately saved by a woman who jumped into the water to rescue her authorities claimed that the young girl's parents were to blame for the incident for having let her sit so close to the edge although there were multiple signs displayed on the dock for people to not feed the sea animals the footage recorded by people nearby showed the sea lion eating food tossed into the water before going after the girl number 6 humpback whales humpback whales are one of the largest species of baleen whales adults can measure over fifty feet in length and can weigh up to a B tons they live in all major oceans and seas around the world and can migrate up to sixteen thousand miles each year humpback whales feed on small schooling fish like salmon herring and Kaplan they hunt by direct attacks or by hitting the water with their pectoral fins in stunning their prey they are known for surface behaviors such as breaching and even leaping out of the water making them popular with whale watchers humpback whales are curious about nearby objects and typically approach whale watching boats closely they are usually peaceful and don't post threats to humans so there are many diving tours around the world that allow people to swim alongside humpback whales the home FAQ well is currently listed as an endangered species it is estimated that 90% of the population was eliminated during the whaling error and the species is now protected against hunting by law number five sea turtles sea turtles also known as marine turtles can be found in most oceans of the world excluding polar regions they are omnivorous and feed with a wide variety of plant and animal life including seaweed sponges mollusks worms and fish some species are only omnivorous and their juvenile stage and become completely herbivorous as they mature sea turtles are usually friendly to swimmers and might even swim right up to them as they encounter them in the water however people are usually instructed not to disturb them and to give them plenty of space when they venture onto the beach as that is when they lay their eggs and it is very important for them not to be interrupted three species of sea turtles are currently classified endangered or critically endangered and another three species are considered vulnerable although they are friendly to humans our species are real threat to them as beefs houses used to profit by selling their meat in an attempt to promote ecotourism as a substitute to sea turtle hunting the Caribbean conservation of corporation made their nesting grounds sustainable by turning them into tourist attractions thousands of tourists annually visit the conservation located in Costa Rica a 22 mile protected beach that hosts turtle walks and nesting grounds number four porpoises porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals along with dolphins and whales they are descendants of land-living ungulates that first entered the ocean around 50 million years ago their size ranges from four and a half to seven and a half feet long and can weigh anywhere from 120 to 500 pounds porpoises are usually found near polar regions often close to the coast they feed mostly on fish and squid and similar to dolphins they communicate by producing a variety of clicks and whistles in relation to humans they tend to be very friendly they are usually not frightened by swimmers and have been observed protecting stranded humans from sharks a popular instance of a porpoise human interaction is that of Mary Poppins star who rescued one of these animals in November 2010 Dick Van Dyke reportedly fell on his surfboard and woke up out of sight of land as he later declared he was then saved by a pot of porpoises that pushed him to shore a similar case of porpoises saving a man lost at sea was registered in September of 2014 Joey Trevino spent over 30 hours stranded adrift after the boat he was fishing in along with three other friends started taking on water Trevino who was wearing a life vest was soon separated with the others and after spending hours waiting for help he almost lost hope he was thinking of removing his vest but regained his will to fight for his life when a porpoise arrived and lingered around until a tanker passed close enough to hear his calls soon a helicopter was dispatched to airlift him to safety after 31 hours of this ordeal number 3 manatees manatees are large marine mammals that can measure up to 13 feet long and weigh up to 1,300 pounds despite being so big they are mostly herbivorous and eat over 60 different freshwater and saltwater plants they are considered to be very intelligent animals and their tasks learning abilities are similar to dolphins they are known to be gentle giants and also nicknamed sea cows for their large size and friendly disposition they do not pose a serious threat to humans and are even frightened when encountered with our species in the water however by approaching them carefully some swimmers have had the opportunity to swim alongside them these animals are usually found in warm waters on the Gulf Coast and have been seen all the way up to the coast of New England there are only 3 species of manatees and all of them have been listed by the World Conservation Union as vulnerable to extinction approximately 99 manatees die each year because of human activities large vessels like ships and tugboats are very dangerous for them and many individuals have died after being injured by the vessels after the cuts lead to fatal infections they're often unable to hear ships approaching as many large boats emit very low frequencies while manatees only hear high frequencies while not all manatees that encounter ships are killed most are injured and suffer major tail mutilations and multiple disfiguring dorsal lacerations additional threats for manatees are red the proliferated and microscopic marine algae which produces toxins and attacked their nervous system and fishing gear which they accidentally ingest while feeding number two whale sharks the whale shark is one of the friendliest shark species when it comes to interacting with humans they have over 3,000 teeth but they are filter feeding fish so they do not eat using their teeth although their mouths can be as large as five feet in diameter whale sharks only feed on plankton small fish and squid because their throats are the size of a quarter therefore they do not pose significant danger to humans they are very docile creatures and have been known for allowing swimmers to hold on for a ride and there are many photos and videos on the internet of people swimming alongside whale shark they are impressive in size usually measuring about thirty two feet in length and weigh approximately 20,000 pounds well sharks are the largest non cetaceans animal in the world despite being so large divers don't usually fear them and might seek them for a unique experience of getting to swim with one catching a ride with these animals is a popular tourist attraction in Cancun although they are not known to be a threat to humans scientists warn swimmers to be careful around them and not provoke them with too much physical contact when swimming with whale sharks in Cancun tourists may not touch them and must always maintain at least a 6 foot distance from their head and a 13 foot distance from their tail whale sharks live in areas ranging from Bay Islands in Honduras to the Galapagos Islands to the Horn of Africa however they are most popular in Cancun because that is where the largest congregation of whale sharks in the world has been witnessed no one dolphins dolphins are known for their special relationship with humans they are very curious animals and they are not usually afraid of our species there have been numerous reports of dolphins saving humans from being attacked by sharks or even drowning even in history and religion these mammals have played an important role for example Greek mythology has described them as helpers of mankind in ancient times Greeks considered that spotting dolphins riding in a ship's wake to be a good omen they live in most oceans of the world and scientists discovered that these mammals are capable of grieving and know how to teach learn cooperate and even scheme their brains are home to elongated spindle neurons sales which in humans are evolved to social conduct judgment emotions and theory of mind dolphins are highly self-aware which is seen by some as a sign of development and abstract thinking they were first tested in 1995 by Kay Martin and s Saros the researchers showed a group of dolphins real-time footage of themselves on television they were expected to show social behavior but instead showed signs of self-awareness dolphins also passed the mirror test which involves placing some temporary dye on the animal's body and then the animals presented with the mirror to see that it shows signs of self recognition Dolphins behavior also display culture something that is believed to be unique to humans mothers pass on their daughters a learned tradition of covering their snouts with sponges to protect them from foraging another learned habit was discovered among river dolphins in Brazil some of the male members of the group were found to use weeds and steaks as part as their sexual display dolphins are highly social and often regarded as the earth's most intelligent animal when paired to other species they are the fastest shark ever recorded reaching speeds of 32 kilometers an hour which enables them to jump as high as 6 meters out of the water shortfin mako sharks have a tendency to fling themselves right out of their natural habitat into ours like a real-life sharknado the ensuing damage can be devastating to the CIL's

Channel: What Lurks Below

Views: 10,123,807

Rating: 4.7002621 out of 5

Keywords: friendliest, sea, creatures, dolphins, sharks, manatees, porpoises, sea turtles, whale, wildlife, ocean, water, saved, swim, animals, rescue, facts, stories, people, whale shark, humpback whales, seal lions, friendly sea creatures, friendly animals, friendliest sea creatures, animals saved by humans, animals that saved peoples lives, swimming with wild animals, animals rescued people, sea creatures, sea animals, frogfish, Horseshoe Crabs, brave wilderness, dangerous jungle spider, velvet worm

Id: LN5AFh7dBR4

Length: 12min 10sec (730 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 16 2017