whales

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The Whales Are Endangered. And Hugging?

North Atlantic right whales were filmed in late February

(Newser) - Were these whales really hugging—or was it just a fluke? Drone video of two critically endangered North Atlantic right whales swimming in Cape Cod Bay shows the animals appearing to embrace one another with their flippers. Wildlife photographer Brian Skerry and scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the...

'It's Like Seeing a Camel at the North Pole'

Wayward whale is spotted in the River Thames

(Newser) - Two tales of two very different animals being sought by wildlife officials:
  • Thames whale: A young minke whale was lost far from home Monday, trapped in the Thames River upstream of London landmarks after it escaped from rescuers overnight, per the AP . Maritime authorities were trying to recapture the whale
...

After Seeing This Sight 4 Times, Concern Mounts

Gray whales found dead in San Francisco Bay Area in 9 days

(Newser) - Four dead gray whales have washed ashore San Francisco Bay Area beaches in the last nine days, with experts saying Friday one was struck by a ship. They were trying to determine how the other three died. "It’s alarming to respond to four dead gray whales in just...

For This Endangered Species, an 'Encouraging Sign'

Scientists: N. Atlantic right whales gave birth this winter in larger numbers since 2015

(Newser) - North Atlantic right whales gave birth over the winter in greater numbers than scientists have seen since 2015, an encouraging sign for researchers who became alarmed three years ago when the critically endangered species produced no known offspring at all. Survey teams spotted 17 newborn right whale calves swimming with...

For These Gray Whales, a Troubling Trend Continues
3 Unwanted Letters for
Gray Whales: U-M-E
new study

3 Unwanted Letters for Gray Whales: U-M-E

'Unexplained mortality event': Scientists worry about prolonged spike in deaths

(Newser) - Back in 2019, scientists reported an alarming spike in the number of deaths of gray whales along the Pacific Coast. Now, a new study in the Marine Ecology Progress Series journal confirms the trend continued through 2020. In what they term an "unusual mortality event," researchers have counted...

Remains Help Scientists Confirm New Whale Species

There are fewer than 100 Rice's whales living

(Newser) - A dead whale that washed up in Florida’s Everglades National Park in 2019 has helped researchers confirm the existence of a new species of the marine mammal that lives in the Gulf of Mexico, Fox23 reports. In the 1990s, per NPR , scientists discovered a small whale population living in...

Unique Song Reveals New Population of Blue Whales
Never-Before-Heard Song
Leads to Ocean Discovery
in case you missed it

Never-Before-Heard Song Leads to Ocean Discovery

Researchers find new population of blue whales in Indian Ocean

(Newser) - Researchers studying whales in the western Indian Ocean were stumped. They recorded a whale song never heard before, one described as a "slow, bellowing ballad" by the New York Times . After some underwater sleuthing, they report a happy discovery in the journal Endangered Species Research: The song belongs to...

Scientist Who Spotted Whales: 'Chills Up and Down My Spine'

3 specimens spotted in Mexico thought to be unknown species of beaked whale

(Newser) - When three beaked whales surfaced next to Jay Barlow's boat, he was excited. He and his colleagues had traveled north of Mexico's remote San Benito Islands to search for the elusive whales, which spend most of their time at depths of 3,000 feet. "It's very...

Pilot Whales Have Tricky Way to Fool Enemies
Clever
Pilot Whales
Fool Their
Rivals
new study

Clever Pilot Whales Fool Their Rivals

Study suggests they mimic killer whales

(Newser) - Pilot whales in southern Australia appear to have developed a nifty technique for fooling rival killer whales—they pretend they're killer whales themselves. Researchers studied the calls of long-finned pilot whales in the region and found that the creatures mimic their larger rivals, reports ScienceDaily . In their study at...

Lobster Traps May Pose Risk to Much Bigger Creatures

Advocates ask government to ban vertical lines to save endangered right whales

(Newser) - It may not be the first threat that comes to mind on endangered whales, but conservation groups say certain lobster traps pose a serious risk and should be immediately banned, reports Courthouse News Service . Advocates filed an emergency petition on Wednesday asking the federal government to ban traps that have...

It&#39;s Been 50 Years Since Highway Workers Blew Up a Whale
They Blew Up a Dead Whale.
It Didn't Go as Expected
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They Blew Up a Dead Whale. It Didn't Go as Expected

'For the blast blasted blubber beyond all believable bounds'

(Newser) - Oregon is celebrating a special anniversary on Thursday: the 50-year commemoration of when highway workers there blew up a dead whale. Per the Willamette Week , a 45-foot, 8-ton sperm whale washed up on the shores of Florence in late 1970, and on Nov. 12, the state's highway division decided...

Humpback Whale Seems to Swallow Kayakers
Humpback Whale Seems
to Swallow Kayakers
in case you missed it

Humpback Whale Seems to Swallow Kayakers

It was 'in my face, literally,' says Liz Cottriel

(Newser) - The kayakers were out on the water to see whales. They did not expect to swim with them. But that's what happened near California's Avila beach on Monday when a humpback whale breached the water's surface—immediately below Liz Cottriel and Julie McSorley. The friends from San...

Whale's Deep Dive Stuns: 'Not Supposed to Be Able to Do This'

Cuvier's beaked whale goes under for a record 3 hours, 42 minutes without coming up for air

(Newser) - It's a mystery how Cuvier's beaked whales go so long without a gulp of air. Based on its body size and metabolism, scientists originally thought the whale would need to resurface every 33 minutes. But one beaked whale just went seven times as long underwater—3 hours, 42...

380 Whales Dead in One of World's Worst Strandings

50 were saved in Tasmania; hope remains for 30 more

(Newser) - There's more bad news from Tasmania, Australia, where 380 whales have now died in one of the largest strandings ever recorded, reports the BBC . Hundreds of long-finned pilot whales have been found stranded on sand bars in a few areas off the island's west coast since Monday. An...

Rescuers Rush to Save Hundreds of Stranded Whales

90 have already died off southern Australia

(Newser) - At least 90 pilot whales have died in a mass stranding off of Australia, and crews are racing to save another 180 from the same fate. The whales were found Monday at three sites off the west coast of the island state of Tasmania, which also saw the stranding of...

Orcas Are Acting 'Crazy' Off Spain

'I thought they could capsize the boat'

(Newser) - Orcas are curious mammals who sometimes play with boats. But playing doesn’t quite describe what endangered pods have been doing in the Strait of Gibraltar, a major shipping route, this summer. Boaters say hard-hitting whales have spun their vessels up to 180 degrees and caused extensive damage. For more...

Whales Face a New Threat
Whales Face a New Threat

Whales Face a New Threat

There's a reason why ship strikes are on the rise, scientists say

(Newser) - Climate change is imperiling the world's largest animals by increasing the likelihood of fatal collisions between whales and big ships that ply the same waters, the AP reports. Warming ocean temperatures are causing some species of whales in pursuit of food to stray more frequently into shipping lanes, scientists...

Project Goes Higher to Keep an Eye on Whales

The plan is to monitor and protect them

(Newser) - An aquarium and an engineering firm in Massachusetts are partnering on a project to better protect whales by monitoring them from space. New England Aquarium of Boston and Draper of Cambridge say whale conservation needs new, higher-tech solutions to protect whales from extinction. So, the pair is working together using...

Your TGIF Minute: A Whale Playing Fetch
Your TGIF
Minute: A
Whale
Playing
Fetch
VIDEO

Your TGIF Minute: A Whale Playing Fetch

'It's crazy, yeah'

(Newser) - Get ready for what TMZ calls a minute "of awesome." The Guardian posted a video Thursday of a boat said to be near the North Pole, with South African rugby fans aboard, next to a beluga whale. That's not what makes the encounter awesome, however: It's...

Satellites May Be Powerful Tool for Whale Strandings
Satellites May Be Powerful
Tool for Whale Strandings
NEW STUDY

Satellites May Be Powerful Tool for Whale Strandings

Researchers say high-resolution images can 'revolutionize' detection

(Newser) - In 2015, scientists described the largest known mass stranding of whales off the coast of Chile. Surveyors who used boats and planes to explore the remote beaches of Patagonia in the months after the deaths said at least 343 great whales, mostly endangered sei whales, had washed up. It turns...

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