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• Seals use their whiskers to hunt. Not Navy Seals, although they may in some way also, but this article is about lowercase seals. Not Seal the musician either; as far...
Additional Context
Seals use their whiskers to hunt. Not Navy Seals, although they may in some way also, but this article is about lowercase seals. Not Seal the musician either; as far as I know, he doesn’t even have whiskers. This is about different seals. Pinnipeds are marine mammals with flippers and blubber.
One of the ways whiskers, or vibrissae, are used is as a flow sensor. In humans, vibrissae are nose hairs that act as filters, while in cats, they’re used to hunt in the dark. Vibrissae can be used to sense air currents, changes in pressure, or to sense things. They’re embedded in the sensory system and are very sensitive. They can tell you that a crevice is too small for you to fit in, sense the air flow of a running prey animal, help an animal in flight orient itself, and act as signals of intent