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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: whales

whales stories: 16 news summaries

 US Lensman 
 Captures 
 Life-Size 
 Whale Pics 

Photog praises 'gentle, friendly' beasts

Oct 6, 09 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A US lensman who has opened an exhibit of life-size whale photographs in Norway calls the great beasts "the most friendly and inquisitive carnivores on the planet." Bryant Austin spent five years, including days diving with "exceptional individual" whales he could touch, to collect enough photos to... More »

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art • ocean • Norway • sea • photographers • minke • whales • Bryant Austin

 Dark, Whimsical Ledger 
 Music Vid Debuts 

Takes a stand against illegal whale hunts

Aug 5, 09 8:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Modest Mouse has debuted Heath Ledger’s whimsical-yet-dark video for the song “King Rat," the AP reports. In the video, which takes aim at illegal whale hunts, Dr Seuss-like animated whales and dolphins go on a bloody hunt for humans, notes Vanity Fair. Watching it might require a... More »

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entertainment • celebrity • Heath Ledger • music videos • whaler • whales • celebrity death • Modest Mouse

(Newser) - Whales and dolphins have highly evolved social structures and may deserve a “personhood” status similar to that being considered for members of the great ape family, Wired reports. The emotional and social areas of the cetacean brain are “enormously complex,” notes one researcher, “and in many... More »

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marine animal • dolphins • whales • cetaceans • social behavior

(Newser) - Whale watching generates about $2.1 billion annually, making it far more profitable than hunting the giant mammals, a new report says. Income from whale watching has doubled over the last decade, according to the report, issued by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "Whale watching is clearly more... More »

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Iceland • whaling • anti-whaling activists • International Whaling Commission • whales • International Fund for Animal Welfare • whale watch

 55 Whales 
 Beach on 
 S. African Shore 

NO REAL ART YET, MIGHT WANT TO HOLD OR LOOK TO  UPDATE LATER?

May 30, 09 7:25 AM CDT
(AP) - Dozens of pilot whales beached this morning near the storm-lashed tip of South Africa, prompting a massive rescue operation. Six bulldozers were deployed to push the 55 whales back into the water, but "as soon as we put them back into the sea, they swim back to the beach... More »

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whale • South Africa • whales • beached whale

 Aussies Can't Save 
 87 Stranded Whales 

But rescuers are ultimately able to save only four

Mar 25, 09 11:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Rescue crews saved four long-finned pilot whales after a mass stranding in Western Australia’s Hamelin Bay, but scores of others died, the West Australian reports. Eighty-seven whales and dolphins beached Monday, prompting more than 250 volunteers and 100 conservation workers to spend a near-freezing night on the beach nursing... More »

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Australia • rescue • dolphin • animal rescue groups • stranded • dolphins • whales

 Brits to Stop Saving 
 Stranded Whales 

Marine experts say refloating causes suffering and rarely works

Mar 25, 09 8:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Whales who get stuck on British shores will now get a lethal injection instead of a lift back to the ocean, the Independent reports. The policy is backed by marine experts and animal welfare groups as the more humane option, based on new research showing that refloated whales usually die... More »

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whale • rescue • Britain • marine mammals • whales

To Find the Killer Whale, Scientists Think Like One

Off of Scotland, team stakes out its prey

Jan 25, 09 5:52 PM CST
(Newser) - Killer whales spend most of their time tracking their prey, and so do the scientists who study them. Marine biologists at Scotland's St. Andrews University spent 3 months among the Shetland Islands in search of their cetacean quarry, and caught sight of whales only about 12 times. They explain to... More »

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Scotland • whales • marine biology • orca • killer whale

Navy, Greenies Settle
Sonar Dispute

Both sides declare victory in long-running lawsuit

Dec 28, 08 12:54 PM CST
(Newser) - The Navy and environmental groups both declared victory today after the two sides settled a lawsuit over sonar and its effect on whales and other marine mammals, the Los Angeles Times reports. The settlement, reached Friday, calls for Navy ships to avoid sensitive areas and reduce or halt sonar when... More »

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environment • Navy • sonar • whales • environmentalists

Freighters Must Brake for Endangered Whales Off US

Right whale get federal protection from speeding vessels

Dec 9, 08 1:32 PM CST
(Newser) - A new US law may save the world’s 400 remaining North Atlantic right whales from their worst enemy—large ships. Mariners will have to slow to 11.5mph as they slice through parts of the mammal’s migration path between New England and Florida, the Boston Globe reports. Since... More »

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endangered species • Atlantic Ocean • New England • shipping • whales

 Supreme Court 
 OKs Navy Sonar 
 Near Whales 

5-4 decision sides with Bush administration

Nov 12, 08 12:49 PM CST
(Newser) - The Supreme Court sided 5-4 with the Bush administration today, exempting the Navy from switching off high-powered sonar near whales during training off California's coast. The piercing underwater sounds panic whales and make their ears bleed, environmentalists tell the Los Angeles Times. But the “public interest” in the exercises... More »

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Bush administration • environment • Navy • US Supreme Court • sonar • whales

Palin Can't Keep Beluga Off Endangered List

Whale population just won't rebound

Oct 18, 08 3:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - The beluga whales living in Alaska’s Cook Inlet were declared an endangered species yesterday over Sarah Palin’s vehement objections, the New York Times reports. The beluga population was cut almost in half during the late '90s, and hasn’t recovered despite a wave of new protections. But... More »

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endangered species • environment • Alaska • Election 2008 • Sarah Palin • whales • beluga whale

 Noisy Humans 'Drowning Out' 
 Marine Mammals 

Report urges humans to turn down industrial volume in world's oceans

Sep 15, 08 12:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Whales and dolphins are seriously suffering from the noise that human industry and militaries release into the ocean, an animal-welfare group warns—and we need to turn the volume down before we do irreversible damage. Sonar is implicated for mass stranding and deaths of whales and dolphins, the BBC reports,... More »

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ocean • noise • dolphins • marine mammals • sonar • whales

World Body Postpones Decision on Whale Hunts

Fractious conference delays decision on moratorium by a year

Jun 25, 08 8:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - A moratorium on commercial whaling looks set to continue for another year after an international body put off a decision yesterday, the Economist notes, but its fate beyond that appears tenuous. The 81-nation International Whaling Commission, often paralyzed by conflicting views, also decided to revamp its decision-making process by forming... More »

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Japan • Norway • whaling • International Whaling Commission • whales

Supreme Court Will Hear
Navy Sonar Appeal

Justices also reject environmentalists' challenge to US-Mexico border fence

Jun 23, 08 1:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court today agreed to hear the US Navy's objection to a court order that ships may not use sonar within 12 miles of the California coast because high-frequency signals are harming whales and other marine life, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Bush administration argues that the judge... More »

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Mexico • Department of Homeland Security • US Navy • border fence • US Supreme Court • sonar • whales

 Whales Return to 
 Moby Dick's Old Haunts 

New sightings of hunt-decimated populations off Chile raise hopes

Apr 28, 08 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Hosts of whale sightings are being reported off southern Chile, raising conservationists' hopes for a resurgence of the populations—including the real-life inspiration for Moby Dick—that flourished in the area before they were hunted nearly to extinction. Experts warn the apparent boom could be the result of more pairs... More »

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humpback whale • Chile • Moby Dick • whales

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