A fleet of Japanese ships is currently hunting minke whales in the Southern Ocean. It is a politically incendiary practice: the waters around Antarctica were long ago declared a whale sanctuary, but the designation has not halted Japan’s whalers, who are continuing a tradition of catching whales “for scientific research” in the region. In the […]
Tag: Humpback
POLL: Should Japan be sanctioned for continuing to slaughter whales?
The past two years have been tough going for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. A big part of its mission since 2005 has been to intercept and stop Japanese ships from hunting whales. Every such outing costs Sea Shepherd about $4 million. In the years when they found success and actually foiled Japan’s whalers, that […]
Sydney pelagic trip
As I headed out on a pelagic wildlife watching trip out of Sydney with Halicat I was really keen to see a new species of whale. Which wasn’t not too much to ask for, given that the only whale species I have seen are Humpbacks, Right whales and a pod of Pygmy Killer Whales. The […]
Right Whales Wronged
The waters of the mid-Atlantic are alive with sound. The snaps, squeaks, bubbles, pops, and whistles of marine life ring through the water, interspersed with the low calls of North Atlantic right whales. But this chorus of sound may soon be drowned out. Already the right whales’ calls are few and far between. The North […]
Something to Sing About……
The Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) has been making somewhat of a comeback since it was banned from being hunted in 1966. Over 90% of it’s population had been hunted out and it is only in the past few years that its numbers have increased to an estimated global population of 80,000. Now that is something […]
Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Canada’s East Coast
One of the highlights of our camera club’sphotography year here on the east coast of Newfoundand, Canada, is our whale watching excursions, and the species of choice for most of us is the huge, and often very active, Humpback. A full-grown Humpback can be 40-50 feet long and weigh over 40 tons. They migrate here, […]