Caught on camera

Science World, Feb 18, 2008 by Cathy Tran

Small cameras called Crittercams captured the secret lives of emperor penguins in the film March of the Penguins. Now, the gadget is gathering clues on how to save endangered Hawaiian monk seals. Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) attached 2.3 kilogram (5 pound) Crittercams to 42 seals and started recording their daily activities.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The 69 hours of video revealed seals repeatedly flipping rocks to uncover tasty eels and octopuses. But finding lunch wasn't that simple: Jack fish and sharks would wait for the seals to do the work and then snatch the food.

Is this competition for food causing the monk seals' decline? NOAA biologist Frank Parrish thinks it's one small part of a bigger puzzle. But getting to sneak a peek at the seals' underwater world could reveal more about these reclusive animals before it's too late.

ILLUSTRATION OMITTED

Crittercams help monitor Hawaiian monk seals whose population has fallen by 60 percent since the 1960s. Now, about 1,400 remain.