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NEWS ABOUT: whales

Whales Suffer Like Humans

Biologists cite studies as case against whaling

(Newser) - As the International Whaling Commission meets this week to debate the future of whaling, marine biologists say that whales are similar to humans in their capacity to feel and suffer. Recent studies show that whales—like great apes and dolphins—possess a self-awareness, which one neurobiologist says allows them to... More »

Japan Bribes Reps on Whaling Commission

London 'Times' says it has video of officials who sold votes

(Newser) - Japan is marching toward a repeal of the 24-year-old ban on commercial whaling, momentum it's built largely by greasing the palms of the International Whaling Commission, reports the Times of London in an exclusive investigation. Japan denies impropriety, but the Times says it's got video of officials admitting Japan pays... More »

Sushi Bar Caught With Whale Meat Is Closing

The Hump calls it 'self-imposed punishment'

(Newser) - The sushi bar in California caught in a sting over whale meat has shut down. The Hump restaurant in Santa Monica announced the move on its website , calling it a "self-imposed punishment," reports the Los Angeles Times . Undercover activists, including an associate producer on the Oscar-winning The Cove,... More »

SeaWorld Resumes Shows, Honors Trainer

Photo montage pays tribute to Dawn Brancheau

(Newser) - SeaWorld in Orlando resumed its whale show today, preceded by an emotional tribute to the female trainer killed three days ago. Spectators, some of whom waited in line two hours before the first show began, gave the trainers a standing ovation when they first emerged, notes the Orlando Sentinel . More »

Celebs Split on Killer-Whale Killing

Khloe Kardashian has whale-phobia; Dane Cook thinks flu is scarier

(Newser) - Celebs are split on which is more outrageous: that the whale that killed a SeaWorld trainer this week is still alive, or that the whale was a captured and trained to perform in the first place. Reactions from Hollywood, as rounded up by E! :
  • Nick Cannon: “People need to
... More »

Why Whaling May Worsen Warming

Whales store carbon in their bones, scientists say

(Newser) - A hundred years of whaling has released about a forest's worth of carbon into the atmosphere, researchers say. Whales serve as "forests of the ocean" by storing carbon in their bones and releasing it when they die. "When you kill and remove a whale from the ocean, that's... More »

Orcas Storm Beach to Grab Seals

Killer whales surf ashore for dinner

(Newser) - Innovative killer whales are breaching a beach in Argentina to grab seals and sea lions in the first such behavior ever witnessed. A pair of orcas particularly adept at the brazen strategy, nicknamed Mel and Maga by observing National Geographic scientists, have been spotted repeatedly riding the waves to shore,... More »

US Lensman Captures Life-Size Whale Pics

Photog praises 'gentle, friendly' beasts

(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 »

Dark, Whimsical Ledger Music Vid Debuts

Takes a stand against illegal whale hunts

(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 »

Whales and Dolphins May Deserve 'Personhood' Status

(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 »

Watching Whales More Lucrative Than Hunting Them

(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 »

55 Whales Beach on S. African Shore

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

(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 »

Aussies Can't Save 87 Stranded Whales

But rescuers are ultimately able to save only four

(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 »

Brits to Stop Saving Stranded Whales

Marine experts say refloating causes suffering and rarely works

(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 »

To Find the Killer Whale, Scientists Think Like One

Off of Scotland, team stakes out its prey

(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 »

Navy, Greenies Settle Sonar Dispute

Both sides declare victory in long-running lawsuit

(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 »

Freighters Must Brake for Endangered Whales Off US

Right whale get federal protection from speeding vessels

(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 »

Supreme Court OKs Navy Sonar Near Whales

5-4 decision sides with Bush administration

(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 »

Palin Can't Keep Beluga Off Endangered List

Whale population just won't rebound

(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 Palin... More »

Noisy Humans 'Drowning Out' Marine Mammals

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

(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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