Northern fulmar

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Fulmarus glacialis

REGION

Atlantic provinces and eastern Arctic

CONSERVATION STATUS

Least concern

WHY SO SPECIAL

Vomits stomach oil to defend itself

COOL FACTOR

The name fulmar comes from Gaelic meaning “foul gull,” although the fulmar is not a gull at all but rather a seabird closely related to the albatross. As for it being foul, well, that part of the name is more accurate. Fulmars, like some other Procellariiformes, store foul-smelling, gooey, orange-coloured oil in their stomach, a residue from their diet of krill, squid and fish. When a nesting fulmar or its chick is threatened by a predator such as a large gull or a falcon, it vomits a projected stream of repugnant oil at its attacker. Feathers splattered with oil become matted and lose their waterproofing, and unlucky victims may eventually drown or die of hypothermia.