There are two types of whale: baleen — who have plates of a keratinous substance that sieve their prey from the sea; and toothed — who have teeth and hunt squid, fish and other sea creatures. The sperm whale is the largest species of toothed whale and can be found in all of Earth’s oceans, […]
In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted to ban the practice of commercial whaling that had driven several species to the brink of extinction, as The New York Times reported at the time. Now, a new study published in Scientific Reports Thursday shows how that decision has borne fruit. The study reported the first […]
Known for their impressive acrobatic abilities and melodic whale songs, humpback whales can grow up to about 55 feet, with pectoral flippers running about a third of their bodies, according to Whale and Dolphin Conservation. These monumental yet graceful whales use their flippers and tails to slap the water, creating dramatic splashes that delight whale […]
Orcas are fearsome predators that have taken on everything from blue whales to great white sharks. But one humpback whale named Valiant was able to turn the table on the aptly-named killer whales in an incident observed by whale watchers off of Canada’s Vancouver Island April 12. “There’s something happening in front of us that […]
The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program recommends that consumers avoid eating any lobster or snow crab caught in the U.S. and Canada, as commercial fishing has put the endangered North Atlantic right whales at further risk of extinction. There are about 70 reproductively active females left of the species, as reported by NRDC, and […]
Two of the most mythical whale species — the narwhal and beluga — have been hanging out together and may produce a fairy-tale-like hybrid species, the “narluga.” First seen in the St. Lawrence River in 2016, a lost male narwhal has been traveling with the beluga whale pod that adopted him ever since, and researchers […]
In two years, Iceland will officially hang up its harpoon. The country, one of only three in the world that allows commercial whaling, will end the controversial practice when current quotas expire.
Killer whales truly deserve their name. They’ve been observed taking down everything from sea lions to great white sharks. And now, for the first time, they’ve been observed attacking and killing the largest animals on earth: blue whales. Scientists writing in the journal Marine Mammal Science on January 21 recorded three incidents in which orcas […]
Using genetic testing, scientists have learned that four critically endangered baby whales believed to be dead are actually alive. The discovery corrects what whale researchers previously thought about young North Atlantic right whales’ physical development and ability to be independent of their mothers, according to the lead author of the study. While genetic testing obviously […]
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