My Deep-sea Fishery

Although elephant seals have a strong ability to resist cold, they are not immune to cold.

Now that there is heavy snow in the sky, they need to find a place to avoid the wind and snow.

"Captain, shall we get it on board?" Fang Youqun asked eagerly.

"How?" Xiang Yang asked back.

Fang Youqun opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer.

Xiang Yang shook his head and said: "This elephant seal weighs at least two tons, and throwing a fishing net by hand can't bear its weight at all. The boat net is unrealistic. Don't think this elephant seal is so flexible in the sea, but once it comes out Once it reached the surface of the sea, its agility dropped several steps immediately, relying on its own ability, it was impossible to climb onto our boat.”

"But this elephant seal is so pitiful. In such a cold day, it has to soak in the icy sea water and get drenched in snow." Fang Youqun said.

When Xiang Yang heard this, he immediately burst out laughing, "Don't worry, you are worried about whether the elephant seal will freeze to death, just like you are worried about whether the fish will be drowned, it is impossible at all."

Creatures like seals can rely on their fat to survive a whole winter in the ice and snow. If they were frozen to death under a snowfall, they would have been extinct long ago.

as expected.

After the elephant seal tried a few more jumps, but failed to reach overtime, it immediately stopped wasting energy on useless work.

I saw it standing upright in the sea water, its head floated out of the water, slowly closed its eyes, and then kept this strange posture motionless.

The snow was so heavy that it quickly covered the elephant seal's head.

The crew immediately looked at each other.

Fang Youqun tentatively asked: "Captain, this elephant seal must have been frozen to death, right? Didn't you say that elephant seals can't freeze to death?"

"I'm conserving my energy and waiting for the blizzard to pass. How come it freezes to death in your mouth? Have you ever seen a fish that freezes to death standing upright in the water?" Xiang Yang laughed dumbly.

The subcutaneous fat of elephant seals is very thick, up to 87 mm. A 4-meter-long male elephant seal can produce 32.5 liters of oil. Such creatures are more resistant to freezing than polar bears. How could they be frozen to death?

It is no exaggeration to say that the penguin was frozen to death, but the elephant seal is still alive and well.

When it comes to cold-resistant animals, many people think that the most cold-resistant animals are polar bears or penguins, but this is not the case.

There are many kinds of animals in the world that are more cold-resistant than penguins, and seals are one of them.

Another example is the lynx, which is a kind of cat that likes the cold very much. Most of them live in snow-capped mountains.

If Xiang Yang were to rank all the animals against the cold, Xiang Yang would think that the animal that is least afraid of the cold should be the tardigrade.

Water bears can be said to be the most tenacious species on this planet. They can withstand the terrifying low temperature of minus 200 degrees and can live in a vacuum.

Because the tardigrade is a creature with its own resurrection armor, it has the unique skill of "hidden life". When it is in a bad environment, the tardigrade can slow down the life metabolism to the extent that it almost stops, and it is in a kind of suspended animation for a long time. After status.

During the suspended animation, the tardigrade's body will dry up, completely stopping its metabolism, and even completely lose its vitality.

However, as long as it encounters water, the tardigrade can be revived again.

Ranked second, Xiang Yang thinks it should be ice worms.

Ice worms are mainly distributed in the coastal glaciers in the northern Pacific Ocean. They are the only known animals that live in ice, and they are also the most cold-resistant creatures known so far except for the compound tardigrades.

The ice worm is a very secretive animal, and its enzymes are still active when it is close to 0°C.

And ice worms are not only resistant to freezing but also resistant to hunger. They are only afraid of heat and environmental pollution.

If the temperature exceeds 5°C, the enzyme will digest its cell membrane and dissolve the ice worm itself into a puddle of water.

Although humans don't yet know how much the ice worm's extreme cold resistance is, but just because they can live in the cold ice all the time, not any animal can do it.

In third place is, without a doubt, the arctic mallard.

Arctic wild ducks are more cold-resistant creatures than polar bears, and they can withstand the severe cold test of minus 110 degrees.

Under the feathers of arctic ducks, there is also a layer of fine down, which wraps them like a blanket and can help them resist the cold.

Most arctic wild ducks live in the Arctic all year round, and generally rest and sleep on the snow.

Although the penguin is a symbol of the Antarctic, and is known for its hardiness. But strictly speaking, penguins need temperature, for example, when hatching eggs, they need temperature.

"I heard that elephant seals don't eat Antarctic krill, but I don't know if it's true." Fang Youqun said suddenly at this moment.

Xiang Yang was slightly taken aback when he heard the words, "Who did you hear that from?"

Antarctic krill occupies a very important position in the entire Antarctic ecosystem. They almost feed the entire Antarctic ecosystem by themselves.

But almost everyone who can survive in the ice and snow of Antarctica does not eat Antarctic krill.

It is an exaggeration to say that without Antarctic krill, there would be no Antarctic ecosystem.

"Captain, why do you care about him? This kid must be trying to get the krill and shrimp porridge on the boat again." Chen Qingsheng smiled and broke Fang Youqun's lies.

"Oh? Is that so?" Xiang Yang looked at Fang Youqun with a half-smile.

Fang Youqun was not embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed, he said openly: "Brother Yang, Brother Sheng, anyway, there is still some porridge left on our boat, and the rest can be used to feed this seal, don't waste it, you see It is so cute and pitiful."

Xiang Yang smiled and shook his head, "It's okay to give you porridge, but how do you feed it? Anyway, I can't agree to you getting it on board."

Unlike the docile harp seals, elephant seals have a violent temper and explosive combat prowess. They are the most dangerous seals after leopard seals.

Not to mention that there is no way to get this elephant seal to work overtime now, even if there is a way, Xiang Yang is determined not to do it.

In fact, many seals are dangerous, among which the leopard seal is the representative.

Although most seals have a mild personality, they are all carnivorous seals after all. When food is in short supply, they will even prey on animals that are also members of the seal family.

In addition to preying on krill, seals usually attack penguins and other marine life. Their sharp canines are powerful tools for predation and can penetrate the thick skin of penguins.

Seals are at the top of the Antarctic food chain. In the area where they live, only killer whales can hunt them.

Getting a harp seal on board, Xiang Yang is already taking a risk, if he gets another elephant seal on board, then Xiang Yang's boat will become a seal den.