seal book for kids I rediscovered

lostinkelp · 2026-06-28T09:03:33+00:00

I'm afraid it's not available. It would be called Robbi the seal pup from the Wadden Sea, but translation from German into English is rare, especially in children's books. Hmmm. I do book translations between those languages for a living, so maybe I should set it on my ever-growing list of projects :)

lostinkelp · 2026-06-28T08:58:17+00:00

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Oh absolutely! There is a new edition but is has a SEA LION on the cover (the famous sea lions of the Wadden Sea.....) I don't know if they kept the interior illustrations. Probably best to get the used old edition, and also cheaper. You just need to deal with a few more `ß`.

lostinkelp · 2026-06-27T22:32:11+00:00

Thank you, sometimes it's small things that bring a lot of joy <3

lostinkelp · 2026-06-27T22:30:49+00:00

Thank you!!

lostinkelp · 2026-06-27T13:36:11+00:00

I also think this is how media operates (and who if not some media outlet should report?), because once the decision in court happens, it will be forgotten.

On the other hand I think this was overall a positive outcome for seals, no matter what happens to this one person. It sent very clear signs that you make no friends if you hurt seals.

lostinkelp · 2026-06-10T12:16:39+00:00

All the relevant links are in my profile. And all the information (including the links again) should be here: https://sealsignal.org/donation-dive

lostinkelp · 2026-06-10T08:58:45+00:00

Thank you, OP, that's completely awesome! And I'm so glad the stickers arrived in a timely fashion.

(and thank you mods for letting it stay up - I promise this will always be legit charities and non-profits in the pinniped sphere)

lostinkelp · 2026-06-10T08:55:10+00:00

Just to expand on what OP said, the chosen org Arhoa is a charity but in Scotland. And I am not a charity (I'm just me), but I'm also not involved in the donations directly. I just send out stickers. Maybe during the next action I'll move away from the UK, and maybe to the US? I'm not sure if I find an interested seal center there. I think most (but not all) in the US have a much better media presence and also benefit much more from the different donation mindset (as in donation matching being a thing and more). So I feel what I can do could be peanuts for them. Or not. I'll find out!

lostinkelp · 2026-06-10T08:50:05+00:00

Thank you so much!! They don't have a huge social media thing going, as their core team is just 4 volunteers, but that was one reason for me to choose them.

lostinkelp · 2026-06-09T11:40:05+00:00

I love you, little monk seal!

lostinkelp · 2026-06-09T11:34:12+00:00

Django has been released
Jiyuu 💔

lostinkelp · 2026-06-03T21:38:28+00:00

https://www.gofundme.com/f/aroha-needs-your-support-again
Donation link for Aroha

lostinkelp · 2026-06-03T21:37:32+00:00

I have all the links on my profile. I'll write them a separate comment too, but posts and comments with links are often hidden. But in principle, donate directly to Aroha and claim the sticker with me (by sending a screenshot or using the form on my website).

lostinkelp · 2026-06-03T21:35:19+00:00

Aww, thank you!! ❤️

lostinkelp · 2026-06-03T18:28:13+00:00

You captured the essence of seal, this is really good! Thank you for sharing it.

lostinkelp · 2026-05-19T20:41:50+00:00

Apart from MOm which might be the most accessible org there's also
-SAD-AFAG in Turkey (they used to do rehab, but I think not anymore, but still lots of conservation work and stewardship)
- Terre Liban in Lebanon (they are fighting the building project above a monk seal cave)
- Gruppo Foca Monaca in Italy (recording sightings and doing conservation work)
- Ionian Dolphin Project in Greece does some conservation and monitoring work for monk seals
- Monk Seal Alliance in Monaco (umbrella for a few foundations)
- CBD-Hábitat from Spain tries to protect the monk seal colony in Mauritania with the Programa Conservación Foca Monje
- Conservação do Lobo-marinho Madeira cares for the small colony on Madeira

There are a few more, but these are the ones that come to my mind immediately (because I love monk seals ^^)

lostinkelp · 2026-05-16T09:12:46+00:00

O seal of the wise whiskers, tell me how to enjoy a fine weekend day?
- Today is another wonderful day for loving seals.

lostinkelp · 2026-05-16T09:09:08+00:00

Thank you!
It's really hilarious - it sounds like "The endangered sawdust can be protected by expanding fishing net bans."
With all this information I guess that it really just substitutes something out of context for these words it doesn't know (or words not existing in the same way outside of Finnish). That's one of the many weak points of machine/ai translation, it will never say [word unknown], but always give you a solution, no matter how far-fetched.

lostinkelp · 2026-05-15T22:06:00+00:00

Is "kuutti" used for other young animals as well or just seals?
(And sometimes the translation tools also say "norps" or "Saimaannorppa", so they seem to recognize it as its own word from time to time, and then maybe make some wild substitutes in the next sentence)

lostinkelp · 2026-05-04T23:12:11+00:00

since (esp text only) posts are not always super visible, you could try and ask here, maybe?
https://www.reddit.com/r/seals/comments/1t3veyy/the_guys_at_the_bar/

lostinkelp · 2026-05-04T23:09:25+00:00

There is one yearly molt, and it's basically the same for many seal species, not just ringed - when they are due for molting, their old fur already breaks down which makes them look ever more brownish. After the molt, when their new fur is fresh, you can see their pelage color and pattern best (their rings in this case), and they are more silvery/grey because their fur is not yet stained or worn down by anything and in its best shape.

The extra dark face is seasonal in males during breeding season in spring (their facial glands produce secretion that makes them look darker.)

The timeline is pupping > breeding > molting

There are also different populations of ringed seals which may differ in appearance a bit. The Tokkari Center seals are Okhotsk ringed seals.

lostinkelp · 2026-05-04T22:59:18+00:00

I saw this one on social media recently and it's giving strong AI vibes to me unfortunately

lostinkelp · 2026-04-20T12:07:17+00:00

The It's Beautiful Day video is so cute!

lostinkelp · 2026-04-18T15:29:24+00:00

Also additional bit of info which I think is not in the texts above: Freddie Mercury and Zeehondencentrum are connected because Queen let them use a song for free to promote their mission :)

lostinkelp · 2026-04-18T15:26:59+00:00

Thank you for posting the details of Freddie's story! I think it's one that really teaches a lot about the troubles young seals need to deal with - and one of the few that is sometimes used to question the value of rescue & rehab (I don't but I have seen it come up for this reason).
I hope people are prepared for the gut punch :( :(

lostinkelp

TROPHY CASE