Marine biologists were surprised at the display of playful behavior ‘like kids in the park’, which lasted more than eight hours
A crowd of 30 killer whales met for a party in California’s Monterey Bay on Sunday.
They did belly-flops into the water, slapped the waves with their flukes and spewed water from their blowholes, surprising marine biologists who had never seen the animals engage in such playful behavior for so long.
Continue reading...Deteriorating conditions and other whales in area south of Sydney hampered attempts, say rescuers
A humpback whale trapped in waters south of Sydney has finally been freed after a gruelling eight-hour rescue mission.
Rescue efforts began on Saturday morning after reports of a whale in distress off Five Islands near Port Kembla. Volunteer crews from Marine Rescue NSW and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service were called to assist at about 8.30am.
Continue reading...Beluga whale was first spotted in Norway wearing a harness marked ‘Equipment St Petersburg’ in 2019
A beluga whale that turned up in Norway wearing a harness in 2019, prompting speculation it was a spy trained by the Russian navy, has reappeared off Sweden’s coast.
First discovered in Norway’s far northern region of Finnmark, the whale spent more than three years slowly moving down the top half of the Norwegian coastline, before suddenly speeding up in recent months to cover the second half and move on to Sweden.
Continue reading...Up to 50,000 whales expected to pass Australia’s east coast during annual migration from Antartica to Great Barrier Reef
Carrie Davis describes seeing her first adult humpback whale of the season launching out of the water off the coast of Sydney last week as magical.
“It’s just this feeling of awe to see this fat whale of that size get all that body out of the water,” said Davis of Go Whale Watching in Sydney. “No matter how many times you see it, it always takes your breath away.”
Continue reading...Environmentalists decry move but natural resources minister says doubling of Vancouver terminal’s size is needed to meet demand
Canada’s federal government has approved a controversial container terminal expansion in Vancouver that would double the port’s current size but could have damaging effects for maritime species already on the brink of extinction, environmental groups warn.
The country’s natural resources minister announced support for the Port of Vancouver’s plan – which would effectively double the size of the Roberts Bank Terminal – framing the decision as a way of preventing future backlog.
Continue reading...Griffith University researcher captures video of five whales doing ‘bizarre rolls’ on the sea floor as they exfoliate and socialise
Whales have been caught on camera enjoying a marine version of a day spa, returning to their favourite spot off the Gold Coast to scratch off itchy skin and parasites, and catch up with their cetacean buddies.
Griffith University whale researcher Dr Olaf Meynecke and his colleagues were trying to shed light on the behaviour of competing pods of humpbacks that use Gold Coast waters to rest, breed and socialise.
Continue reading...Controversy stirs in New Jersey along political lines as some scientists say wind turbine theory is ‘cynical disinformation’
Thousands gathered at New Jersey’s Point Pleasant beach on Sunday with a united mission: to pause offshore wind projects in response to recent whale deaths along the New York-New Jersey coast.
The gathering unfolded even as officials dispute the notion that the projects may be to blame for the dead whales, a controversy that – like many – is breaking along political party lines.
Continue reading...Company says vessel’s construction will help ‘pass on our whaling culture to the next generation’
A Japanese company is building a new whaling ship designed to travel as far as Antarctica, sparking fears commercial operations could resume in the Southern Ocean.
Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibsersek, reaffirmed the Albanese government’s commitment to a global moratorium on commercial whaling, while Greenpeace condemned the practice as “brutal and unnecessary”.
Continue reading...Large volumes of traps, nets and marine debris in sperm whale’s intestinal tract highlight plastic pollution’s threat to wildlife
A sperm whale that washed ashore in Hawaii over the weekend probably died in part because it ate large volumes of fishing traps, fishing nets, plastic bags and other marine debris, scientists said on Thursday, highlighting the threat to wildlife from the millions of tons of plastic that ends up in oceans every year.
The body of the 56ft (17-meter) long, 120,000-pound (54,000kg) animal was first noticed on a reef off Kauai on Friday. High tide brought it ashore on Saturday.
Continue reading...Kyodo Senpaku opened ‘stores’ at two locations in Tokyo after successful trial
A Japanese whaling company has sparked an angry response from animal rights campaigners after it started selling whale meat from vending machines in an effort to boost consumption.
Kyodo Senpaku, whose vessels led Japan’s whaling fleet during its controversial expeditions to the Southern Ocean, opened its first kujira (whale meat) “stores” at two locations in Tokyo this month after a successful trial late last year.
Continue reading...Fishing gear used by Maine lobstermen is killing right whales. Will boosting a $1bn industry trump protecting an endangered species?
President Macron of France may not have realised it, but he walked into another fishing war earlier this month when he and 200 other guests were treated at the White House to butter-poached Maine lobster accented with American Osetra caviar and garnished with celery crisp.
At issue was the lobster, currently subject to a court ruling designed to prevent Maine’s lobstermen from trapping the crustacea in baited pots marked by lines that can fatally entangle feeding North Atlantic right whales. There are now just 340 such whales, with only about 100 breeding females, making the species one of the most endangered on the planet.
Continue reading...About 250 whales beached on remote Chatham Islands just days after another stranding involving similar number of mammals
Hundreds of pilot whales have stranded on New Zealand’s remote Chatham Islands just days after a nearby beaching resulted in 250 mammals dying or being euthanised.
About 250 whales came ashore at Pitt Island/Rangiauria in the second stranding, taking the total number of whales stranded on the Chatham Islands to around 500, the general manager of Project Jonah, Daren Grover, said on Monday. The project runs a stranding hotline and mobilises marine rescues.
Continue reading...An assessment released Friday shows the population is down 38% from its peak in 2015 and 2016
US researchers say the number of gray whales off western North America has continued to dwindle during the last two years, a decline that resembles previous population swings over the past several decades but is still generating worry.
According to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries assessment released Friday, the most recent count put the population at 16,650 whales – down 38% from its peak during the 2015-16 period. The whales also produced the fewest calves since scientists began counting the births in 1994.
Continue reading...Scientists say behaviour, filmed in South Africa, has never been seen in detail before – and never from the air
Scientists have published findings confirming that orcas hunt great white sharks, after the marine mammal was captured on camera killing one of the world’s largest sea predators.
A pod of killer whales is seen chasing sharks during an hour-long pursuit off Mossel Bay, a port town in the southern Western Cape province, in helicopter and drone footage that informed a scientific study released this week.
Continue reading...Rescue efforts are continuing for the 35 surviving whales on Ocean Beach near Strahan after the second mass stranding to occur in Australia in two days
Nearly 200 stranded pilot whales have died on Tasmania’s west coast, but rescuers successfully returned 32 animals to deeper water on Thursday.
A pod of about 230 pilot whales became stranded on Wednesday on Ocean Beach, west of Strahan. Some were also stranded on a sand flat inside Macquarie Harbour, south of the town.
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Continue reading...Marine wildlife experts are assessing the scene near Strahan – the same location as Australia’s worst mass stranding exactly two years ago
Rescuers and marine conservationists have rushed to Tasmania’s west coast as efforts continue to save pilot whales after a mass stranding near the remote town of Strahan.
On Wednesday, a pod of about 230 pilot whales became stranded on Ocean beach, west of Strahan. Some were also stranded on a sand flat inside Macquarie harbour, south of the town. At least 100 of the animals are thought to have died.
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Continue reading...Judgment is huge victory for campaigners concerned about effect of seismic waves on marine life
A South African court has upheld a ban imposed on the energy giant Shell from using seismic waves to explore for oil and gas off the Indian Ocean coast.
The judgment delivered in Makhanda on Thursday marks a monumental victory for environmentalists concerned about the impact the exploration would have on whales and other marine life.
Continue reading...After nearly six hours of work, the 800kg cetacean was lifted from the river by crane and placed on a barge
The beluga whale stranded in the River Seine in northern France has reportedly been removed from the water early on Wednesday in the first stage of an ambitious rescue operation.
After nearly six hours of work, the 800-kilogram (1,800-pound) cetacean was lifted from the river by a net and crane at around 4am (0200 GMT) and placed on a barge under the immediate care of a dozen veterinarians.
Continue reading...Apparently underweight whale swimming towards Paris is refusing food and seems skittish, say French authorities
French authorities were planning on Saturday to give vitamins to a beluga whale that swam way up the Seine, as they raced to save the malnourished cetacean that is refusing food.
The apparently underweight whale was first spotted Tuesday in the river that flows through Paris to the Channel. On Saturday it had made its way to about 70km (44 miles) north of the French capital.
Continue reading...Drones used to track mammal in ‘worrying’ health amid struggle to guide it back to Channel
A beluga whale that swam up the River Seine in France appears to be underweight and officials are worried about its health, regional authorities say.
The protected species, usually found in cold Arctic waters, had made its way up the waterway and reached a lock about 70km (44 miles) from Paris.
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