cetaceans

18 Stories

'Incredibly Rare' Whale Sighting Made Off East Coast

Gray whale went extinct in the Atlantic centuries ago

(Newser) - The gray whale went extinct in the Atlantic Ocean more than 200 years ago—so researchers from the New England Aquarium were more than a little surprised to see one off the coast of Nantucket on Friday. The whale was spotted by an aerial survey plane around 30 miles from...

Destroyer Docks in San Diego With 2 Dead Whales on Hull

Australian navy says it is 'disheartened'

(Newser) - A disturbing find was made as a Royal Australian Navy destroyer docked in San Diego on Saturday: Two dead whales—one of them as long as a tractor-trailer—had been stuck to its hull, CNN reports. The endangered fin whales, one 65 feet long and the other 25 feet, became...

Russia Is Closing Down Illegal 'Whale Jails'

100 whales will be returned to the wild, deputy PM says

(Newser) - Russian officials have launched an operation to release nearly 100 illegally captured whales whose confinement in Russia's far east has become a rallying cry for environmentalists. A state TV reporter made the announcement during President Vladimir Putin's annual live call-in show on Thursday, saying that by "coincidence"...

Out of Canada, 'News to Splash a Fin At'

'Free Willy' act, which would bar holding whales, dolphins in captivity, about to become law

(Newser) - "Breaking: Victory!" That was the exuberant message from Canada's Green Party on Monday, when the country's House of Commons passed a bill aimed at protecting marine life there. CNN reports on the "Free Willy" bill—named for the 1993 flick in which a boy "...

Off the West Coast, Gray Whales Are Starving to Death

At least 53 have washed up so far this year

(Newser) - Gray whales are starving to death in alarming numbers off the West Coast—and researchers aren't entirely sure why. So far this year, at least 53 dead gray whales have washed up on shores from San Diego to Washington state, a number only rivaled by a die-off in 1999...

Fossil of 4-Legged Whale Found in Peru

Scientists believe it swam like an otter

(Newser) - What's 13 feet long and has webbed feet with small hooves? It's a whale, according to researchers examining a 42.6-million-year-old fossil found near Peru's Pacific coast. The four-legged early whale, which could apparently move on land as well as in the sea, is the most complete...

Illegal Russian 'Whale Jail' Investigated

Dozens of orcas, belugas seen in cramped pens

(Newser) - Some of the world's most majestic creatures are being kept in cramped conditions in an illegal "whale jail" in Russia, activists say. Prosecutors in the city of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East opened an investigation after drone video was released showing dozens of beluga whales and orcas...

Feds: Most Humpbacks No Longer Endangered

NOAA wants to split species into 14 groups

(Newser) - NOAA says it's a whale of a success story: Most of the world's humpback whale populations, including all those that enter US waters, are no longer endangered, according to the agency. NOAA, which says 45 years of protection have helped whale populations rebound, wants to reclassify the...

This Could Be World's Most Endangered Animal

Newly identified Gulf whale species lives in single canyon

(Newser) - A new species of whale has been identified in an underwater canyon in the Gulf of Mexico, but scientists fear they won't have long to get to know it: There are only about 50 of the unique species of Bryde's whale left in waters off the Florida Panhandle,...

Newly Discovered Dolphin Species Needs Name

Humpbacks live off northern Australia coast

(Newser) - A species of dolphin that lives off the coast of northern Australia is so new to science that it doesn't have a name yet. Scientists knew about the dolphin populations, but they were thought to be part of another humpback dolphin species until genetic testing revealed that they were...

Dolphins Remember Pals for Decades
 Dolphins Have 
 Astounding 
 'Social Memory' 
STUDY SAYS
Aug 7, 2013 12:22 AM CDT

Dolphins Have Astounding 'Social Memory'

Can recall whistles 20 years later

(Newser) - Dolphins not only have names for each other , their memories are so good that they can remember the "signature whistles" of friends—and enemies—for at least 20 years, according to a new study. Researchers studied scores of captive bottlenose dolphins that had been shifted around the US and...

Dolphin Rescue Video Makes a Splash

Brazilian beachgoers save pod after mass stranding

(Newser) - So long, and thanks for all the help. Beachgoers come to the rescue of some 30 stranded dolphins in a video racking up plenty of views on YouTube, AP reports. Dozens of shocked people at the beach near Rio de Janeiro look on as the pod suddenly beaches itself. They...

Biologist Indicted for Feeding Killer Whales

California researcher broke law with blubber, feds say

(Newser) - A renowned marine biologist has landed in hot water for giving blubber to killer whales. Nancy Black, who runs whale-watching tours in California's Monterey Bay, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges that she violated a federal law banning feeding or otherwise interfering with marine mammals in...

'Extinct' Whale Surfaces Again

Lost gray whale spotted off Spanish coast

(Newser) - Gray whales became extinct in the Atlantic centuries ago, so experts believe the one that was spotted off Spain's Mediterranean coast recently is either incredible evidence of a recolonization, or incredibly lost. The whale is likely the same one seen off the coast of Israel last month, but experts have...

Wind Farms Scaring Off Porpoises

'Bubble curtains' could be the solution

(Newser) - Renewable energy from wind farms comes at the cost of scaring off porpoises, according to a German study of the country's first offshore wind farm. The marine mammals—who depend on their acute hearing for communication, orientation, and finding food—fled the area 30 miles off the German coast while...

Swimming With Dolphins 'Traumatizes Them'

Harassed dolphins spend less time feeding, nurturing young

(Newser) - Zanzibar's dolphins are becoming incredibly stressed out by the steady stream of tourists swimming with them, British scientists say. The researchers found that dolphins become stressed when people swim close to them or touch them. The dolphins also become unsettled when tourists boats are around and spend less time resting,...

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...

Humpbacks No Longer in Danger
 Humpbacks
 No Longer in Danger
Aug 12, 2008 9:56 AM CDT

Humpbacks No Longer in Danger

Spectacular success for conservation

(Newser) - Humpback whales, once feared to be on the verge of extinction, have made such a dramatic comeback that the International Union for Conservation of Nature has removed them from its list of vulnerable species. A ban on humpback whaling in the 1960s has allowed their numbers to grow to 55,...

18 Stories