dolphins

Why Do Whales and Dolphins Strand?

Why Do Whales and Dolphins Strand?

Alexander Freund Pilot whales, sperm whales, beaked whales and deep-sea dolphins are the marine mammals most commonly involved in mass strandings. Baleen whales, on the other hand, a group to which all big whales except the sperm whale belong, strand very rarely. If these mammals become stranded, they can dry out, overheat, suffocate or suffer […]

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    10 Surprising Dolphin ‘Superpowers’

    10 Surprising Dolphin ‘Superpowers’

    By Fino Menezes Everyone adores dolphins. Intelligent, inquisitive and playful, these special creatures have captivated humans since the dawn of time. But dolphins didn’t get to where they are by accident — they needed to develop some pretty amazing superpowers to cope with their environment. These extraordinarily intelligent creatures have been seen to display culture, […]

    Sushi Parasite Has Increased 283x in Nearly 40 Years

    Sushi Parasite Has Increased 283x in Nearly 40 Years

    The population of a marine parasite that sometimes worms its way into sushi has increased by 283 times in the last nearly 40 years, a University of Washington (UW)-led study has found. The study, published in Global Change Biology Thursday, reviewed the literature and found a significant rise in the abundance of the parasite Anisakis, […]

    Indian Ocean Dolphin Population Plummets Due to Commercial Fishing

    Indian Ocean Dolphin Population Plummets Due to Commercial Fishing

    Fishing operations in the Indian Ocean have decimated dolphin populations over the last 70 years, according to a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research. The fishing operations that have had dolphins swept up as bycatch have meant that nearly 4 million dolphins have died since 1950 and the population of dolphins in […]

    NOAA Offers $20,000 to Help Solve Brutal Florida Dolphin Murders

    NOAA Offers $20,000 to Help Solve Brutal Florida Dolphin Murders

    Government officials are offering an up to $20,000 reward for information that helps solve two brutal Florida dolphin murders. The first dolphin was discovered shot or stabbed late last week by biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission off of Naples, Florida, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries reported Tuesday. The second […]

    Oil Spill Causes ‘Major Disaster’ for Ganges River Dolphins Breeding Zone

    Oil Spill Causes ‘Major Disaster’ for Ganges River Dolphins Breeding Zone

    An oil spill in the endangered Ganges river dolphin breeding grounds located in southeast Bangladesh has been called a “major disaster” by environmentalists, reports Agence-France Presse (AFP). Ganges River dolphins are in crisis after a tanker carrying 1,200 tonnes of diesel collided with another ship on the Karnaphuli river near Chittagong port, #Bangladesh Friday and […]

    Whales and Dolphins Found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the First Time

    Whales and Dolphins Found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch for the First Time

    By Chandra Salgado Kent Scientific research doesn’t usually mean being strapped in a harness by the open paratroop doors of a Vietnam-war-era Hercules plane. But that’s the situation I found myself in several years ago, the result of which has just been published in the journal Marine Biodiversity. As part of the Ocean Cleanup’s Aerial […]

    Canada Passes ‘Free Willy’ Bill Banning Whale and Dolphin Captivity

    Canada Passes ‘Free Willy’ Bill Banning Whale and Dolphin Captivity

    By the end of June, it will be illegal to keep whales and dolphins in captivity in Canada, the Huffington Post reported Tuesday. The so-called “Free Willy” bill passed the Canadian House of Commons by an overwhelming majority Monday, CBS News reported. It now must pass through a process called “royal assent” in which either […]