Seals Use Astronomy as Navigation Aid

I thought that this was a really nifty article. It appeared on my friends list tonight on the Universe Today feed. :)

Seals Use Astronomy as Navigation Aid

Yes, we’ve heard bees use the Earth‘s magnetic field to navigate by. We’ve also heard about some bird species following the Sun to find the location of their evening roost. But what do we know about the animals living at sea? Do they use astronomical aids to help them find their way around the planet? Mammals such as whales are known to exhibit “skyhopping” behaviour when they surface from the water to have a look around, but seals go one step further; they can recognise and orientate themselves with the stars…