Hundreds of southern right whale calves have been washing up dead on the coastline of Peninsula Valdés, Patagonia, since June this year and experts are desperate to find out why. “The record of an unusually high number of dead southern right whale calves off the coast of Peninsula Valdés has generated deep concern throughout the community,” […]
Tag: southern right whale
Scientists once thought it could only live for 70 years – turns out it’s double that. Here’s how they made the amazing discovery
Whales have some of the longest lifespans in the animal kingdom, with several whale species being recorded as living for more than 100 years. In the past, researchers have used several methods to measure the longevity of this these marine mammals. They count layers in their earwax, which increase year after year; they measure a chemical […]
Humpback Whale Population Now Well Above Pre-Whaling Levels in Australia
The recovery of the eastern Australian humpback whale population has been described as nothing short of a “miracle,” such that the majestic beasts number more now than they did before commercial whaling. When homeowners today along the coasts of Australia file noise complaints, it’s likely to be from motor boats or late-night parties, but there […]
Republicans try to weaken 50-year-old law protecting whales, seals and polar bears
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Republican lawmakers are targeting one of the U.S.’s longest standing pieces of environmental legislation, credited with helping save rare whales from extinction. Conservative leaders feel they now have the political will to remove key pieces of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, enacted in 1972 to protect whales, seals, polar bears […]
‘So tiny and so vulnerable’: what chance will one of Australia’s smallest birds have against a rocket launchpad?
The southern emu-wren, one of Australia‘s smallest birds, weighs just seven grams, about as much as two teaspoons of water. More tail than bird, its six upright tail feathers make up more than half its length and the males have a distinctive sky-blue patch of feathers on their upper chest and throat. But conservationists say […]
‘Extraordinary longevity’: great whales can live a lot longer than we thought – if we leave them alone
In Moby-Dick, Herman Melville’s epic novel of 1851, the author asks if whales would survive the remorseless human hunt. Yes, he says, as he foresees a future flooded world in which the whale would outlive us and “spout his frothed defiance to the skies”. Moby Dick was a grizzled old sperm whale that had miraculously […]
One in 10 southern right whales alive in 1893 could have still been swimming today, study finds
In 1893, the World’s Fair was getting under way in Chicago, the world’s first number plates appeared on cars in Paris, and Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination would later spark the first world war, spent time hunting kangaroos and emus in the NSW town of Narromine. Also, according to researchers, up to 10% of southern […]
6 Exciting Ways To See More Wild Animals
Generally speaking, all animals are spectacular, but there’s just something special about the wild ones that words cannot describe properly. Maybe it’s the fact that we do not get to see them on a regular basis, hence coming face to face with them is a truly extraordinary experience. Unfortunately, the modern world hasn’t given its […]