Ice Berg: The One and Only White Killer Whale

      If you've ever heard of a killer whale, you probably know what they look like. Killer whales have incredible pigment, i must say. They have a pure black coat with two white blobs surrounding their eyes, usually. Ice berg is a killer whale that is entirely white. It was first thought that it was by a disease called Chediak-Higashi syndrome, a rare disease of the immune and nervous system that effects coloration, but that theory was soon proved wrong because most animals with this disease don't make it to adulthood, and Ice berg is estimated to be a male killer whale at the age of about 16. It may be a true albino whale, but because he has a small  amount of coloring on the back of is dorsal fin, it is not fully proven. Ice berg may not be the only white killer whale. In 2000 and 2008, a white killer whale was spotted of the coast of the Alaskan Aleutian islands and in far east Russia, although it could be the same one. According to the witnesses, they all were quite similar.

      Ice berg is a handsome, and likely healthy killer whale. Things like Ice berg remind us that there are still great things that have yet to be discovered. Maybe Ice berg will influence people not only to save its species, but its habitat, The ocean.
                                      -Kennedy S.

Navy Sea Mammals to Show Skill in Bay

Dolphins and sea lions are the marine mammals that are used by the Navy to track mines or waterborne saboteurs. To some people this might sound like a part from a James Bond movie, right? Wrong this has been going on for 40 years.

The Navy showcased this on Monday as a part of a statewide exercise simulating a port terrorist attack. Federal officials have looked back and have seen that these trained marine mammals have been used exclusively for military operations. Many trainers also developed relationships with these special animals.

Dolphins were in Vietnam and no mine ever exploded because of them. Fred Jolly manages a team of animal handlers from the Navy Marine Mammal Program that has come to San Francisco.

Marine Mammal and the Giants Team Up

Student Assignment: Julien G.

The following is from the Marine Mammal Center. Write an article -- no less than 300 words -- about their day with the Giants.

Why are they doing it? Remember to include images, as well as the answers to the five W's (who, what, when where, why). Also, give an update to how the Giant's season is going.

You're invited to help celebrate Marine Mammal Day!

What is Marine Mammal Day, You Ask?

You know that the San Francisco Giants mascot is the world famous Lou Seal, but did you know that he has his own favorite charity? It's The Marine Mammal Center, of course! So Marine Mammal Day is Lou Seal's big chance to tell all his friends about how the Center helps out seals (and sea lions, whales and more!).

LOU SEAL reports: Because of my great-grandfather, the original San Francisco minor league baseball team was named the San Francisco Seals. As Grandpa told it, the original owner was walking along Pier 23 trying to think of a name for his team. A burst of wind came and blew his cap off his head and into the Bay. My great-grandfather retrieved it with his nose and gave it back to the man. From that moment on, they were called the San Francisco Seals!

So join us in celebrating marine mammals: buy your tickets for the 8th Annual Marine Mammal Day and help save seals in the process of having fun!

• Watch the San Francisco Giants take on the Baltimore Orioles
• Game Time is 12:45 pm Wednesday, June 16th at AT&T Park
• A portion of ticket sales for this game will be donated to the Center when you purchase your tickets through this special link: click here

So please join us, and help spread the word about Marine Mammal Day! (This is our monthly members-only program for June,and anyone who has a ticket can attend!).

If you have trouble getting to the special link, paste this into your browser: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/sf/ticketing/group_special_events.jsp#mammal

Our Bay: The (Mostly) Good and the Bad

Student Assignment: Rubina

The beaches of San Francisco have been graded. Write an article about all of the beaches in the area and how they rank. Also, include a paragraph or two explaining what this might mean to beach-goers and their dogs, as well as the animal wildlife in the areas. Which beaches in the area are worst? How to they compare to other states or counties?

Include at least one image and aim for at least 300 words in your story.

• Read this article on SFGate for background.
• Use the app on this site to see how our beaches compare to others.