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: whales
Scientists listened to the rumbles of elephants on the African savannah. Here’s what they discovered
Roaming the open bush and scrublands of sub-Saharan Africa, African savannah elephants communicate with each other through low-frequency rumbles, often occurring in overlapping choruses. This cacophony of sounds can be tricky to analyse – but a new study now reveals its intricacies and purpose. The research was led by scientists from ElephantVoices and Earth Species Project, with collaborators from […]
“One is like a motorbike while the other is a pushbike…” What’s the difference between cold-blooded and warm-blooded animals?
What’s the difference between cold-blooded and warm-blooded? The animal kingdom can be split based on how body temperature is controlled (thermoregulation): ‘cold-blooded’ ectotherms use external sources of heat, such as solar energy, whereas ‘warm-blooded’ endotherms generate internal heat via metabolism. But while this difference helps define features and behaviour, some species show that the distinction […]
Seeking swordfish, catching dolphins and whales: EU pushes to rein in driftnets
Driftnets, vertically hanging nets that drift with ocean currents and can stretch for kilometers, are used to catch large pelagic species such as swordfish and tuna. However, they have long drawn criticism from conservationists as they also capture and kill sharks, turtles, dolphins and other marine wildlife. For decades, debate has raged about use of […]
These endangered whales have lived in a small sea for 70,000 years. One of them just broke the pattern
Scientists documented the first long-distance travel of an Arabian Sea humpback whale (ASHW): a small population of only around 82 individuals that live off Oman’s coast. Unlike other humpbacks around the world, these endangered whales usually stay close to home. The population is genetically distinct from other humpbacks, having diverged around 70,000 years ago, and individuals usually stay within […]
Canadian government endorses a plan to move whales from shuttered Marineland park to US and Spain
TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s government endorsed a plan Wednesday to move the last remaining captive whales from a shuttered theme park in Ontario to aquariums in the United States and Spain — a plan that could save them from mass euthanasia if the deal goes through. There are 30 belugas and four dolphins left in the Marineland park […]
David Attenborough narrates ruthless, shocking footage of orcas kidnapping a vulnerable humpback whale calf right under its poor mother’s nose…
In a display of sophisticated predatory behaviour, three orcas were seen using a highly strategic hunting method to ‘kidnap’ a young humpback whale, from under its mother’s nose. This entirely new tactic had never been seen before by scientists and was documented by a camera team for the first time for the BBC’s 2024 documentary series, Mammals, narrated […]
A real-life kraken monster? At 19m it was longer than a railway carriage, devilishly smart and able to crush prey with a devastatingly lethal bite…
The largest predators in Earth’s oceans are typically vertebrates, so when palaeontologists recently announced they’d found fossils from a 19m-long octopus that lived during the Late Cretaceous, it’s no surprise a lot of people were left scratching their heads. What is Nanaimoteuthis haggarti? This colossal cephalopod is perhaps the closest palaeontologists have ever got to finding […]