TEFÉ, Amazonas state, Brazil — A pair of pink Amazon river dolphins emerges for just a moment, arcing above the chocolate brown waters inside the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development, a research facility at the tropical heart of the Brazilian Amazon. Powerful jets of water spray out of their blowholes as these freshwater mammals take […]
Conservationists hope to reunite an orca with her family in the ocean after she was held in captive in a concrete tank for 50 years. Corky was caught off the coast of Canada in 1969 aged four and is now the oldest and longest held killer whale in the world. Marine biologists have found her […]
While most of the world is on lockdown in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, the deadly pandemic sweeping the world, some countries are still continuing cruel activities. Japan and Norway have decided that commercial whale hunting, a horrible practice, is “essential.” Despite the global ban by International Whaling Commission on commercial whaling […]
COLOMBO — For Nilantha Kodithuwakku, a naturalist involved in whale and dolphin-watching operations, it’s always a spectacular scene to witness pods of playful dolphins jumping and spinning in the air. But occasionally the scene he encounters is of dolphin carcasses, either floating or washed ashore, with the tail flukes missing.Charles Anderson, a marine biologist based […]
Around the world, fishermen use gillnets to catch tuna. But they don’t just catch tuna. Sadly, other fish and marine animals become “bycatch” like sea turtles, sharks, and cetaceans. Dolphins, in particular, are killed by the tens of thousands by this fishing technique. A recent study found that “More than 80% of Indian Ocean dolphins […]
In June 2019, Canada passed The Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act (Bill S-203). This law makes “it illegal to hold any cetacean in captivity, for reasons other than rehabilitation and scientific research. Breeding or trading reproductive materials of whales and dolphins will also be prohibited. Any breach of this ban carries fines […]
More animals are being harmed because of our plastic habits. In a northern Scottish Island, a sperm whale washed up onto the beach with 220 pounds of plastic in its stomach. The whale beached itself and died December 5, where it was later found by researchers. When a necropsy was performed on the whale, researchers […]
Another win for animals! Booking.com is the latest site to announce they will not sell tickets to parks or attractions that feature whales and dolphins, or to circuses. The company’s new animal welfare policy prohibits selling tickets to SeaWorld, like aquariums and circuses. Circuses includes those that use elephants, big cats, primates or bears. The […]