Biologists have discovered that common seals are able to detect
tiny disturbances in the water left by fish and follow them,
much as a dog would follow the scent of an animal on land. Their
whiskers are so sensitive that they can detect the trail of
vortices left by a fish up to half a minute after it has passed.
In dark or dirty water, seals can rely solely upon this extra
sense to chase down their prey as it tries to escape. Until now
seals’ whiskers were thought to be mainly used when physically
touching objects, but it now appears they have a far more
important role to play. The researchers believe whiskers may be
as effective at finding fish as the echolocation used by
dolphins and whales. Dr Wolf Hanke, a zoologist at the Marine
Science Centre at the University of Rostock, Germany, said that
a seal could pick up the trail of a fish 35 seconds after it had
swum past, by which time it could be as much as 230 feet (70
metres) away. He said: “Whiskers compare well with the
performance of whales and dolphins