What's in My Nose?

March 11, 2019

Recently, some Hawaiian monk seals have developed a bad habit: getting eels stuck in their noses! In the past two years, scientists have found four young seals with dead eels lodged in their nostrils. “It’s hard to know how it happens. Eels are part of the seals’ diet, so it’s likely related to how they’re handling their food,” says Charles Littnan, who runs the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program.

The blockage prevents a seal from closing its nostrils while diving, which could cause serious breathing problems. Luckily, researchers successfully removed the eels before any seals were harmed. But how the eels got in their noses remains a mystery.

YOUR TURN

The diameter of a seal’s nostril is 1.2 inches. An eel’s diameter is 1.4 inches. The circumference of an eel is how much larger than that of the seal’s nostril? Use 3.14 for pi. Record your work and answer on our Numbers in the News answer sheet.