Demons of the Deep

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 31

1 2 Next >>

November 2008
- Ocean Census Surprises Scientists
  
  USA Today | Nov 10, 08 10:32 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Somewhere under the Antarctic Ocean, brittle starfish completely cover a submerged mountain. In the Pacific, sharks congregate in a region with few food sources but plenty of opportunity for romance. Those facts, along with an accounting of more than 5,000 newly discovered species, are part of the results of the global effort to create a Census of Marine Life, USA Today reports. More »
October 2008
- Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble
  
  Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Oct 25, 08 10:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The orca population in Washington’s Puget Sound is dropping, and scientists think a scarce food supply is to blame, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. A poor year for chinook salmon—and another is in the forecast—forced the killer whales to spend energy searching further afield for food. Two mature females (the least likely orcas to die) and five others were lost this year, the biggest yearly decline since the 1990s. More »
- Scientists Confirm Shark's Virgin Birth
  
  Virginian-Pilot | Oct 10, 08 8:34 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A blacktip shark at a Virginia aquarium got pregnant despite not having been around a male of her kind for a decade, the Virginian-Pilot reports. Scientists have long suspected that sharks, like some smaller vertebrates, could reproduce asexually but this is only the second confirmed case. Tests showed the baby shark had genetic material purely from its mother. More »
- Help's on Way for Cape Cod Manatee
  
  Cape Cod Times | Oct 10, 08 7:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A 1,000-pound manatee, with one eye and an injured flipper, has been stranded for four days off the sleepy Cape Cod harbor town of Dennis, and its chances of returning to warmer waters without help appear slim, reports the Cape Cod Times . The US Fish and Wildlife Service will try to rescue the manatee, dubbed Dennis, this weekend. More »
September 2008
- Noisy Humans 'Drowning Out' Marine Mammals
  
  BBC | 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, and ocean noise is doubling each decade in some areas. More »
- Bucki the Whale Escapes Baltic for Open Ocean
  
  Der Spiegel | Sep 9, 08 4:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bucki's going home, a little thinner but seemingly none the worse for wear. The humpback whale, which strayed into the Baltic Sea in July, has finally made his way back into the Atlantic Ocean, Der Spiegel reports. The whale is only the third in modern history spotted in German waters and the first known to have gotten back to the open ocean. Watchers were worried that the whale wasn't getting enough food on its impromptu tour. More »
August 2008
- A Shark-Hater Fesses Up
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 8, 08 12:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sharks were once eminently despicable creatures. Remember Jaws ? Now, though, perceptions have shifted—they’re seen as endangered, misunderstood animals who chomp humans only when they mistake them for seals. (That's why they take one bite and "sheepishly" move on.) It's a source of great disappointment to Joe Queenan, who laments in the Los Angeles Times that he just can't find an acceptable replacement for his hatred. More »
July 2008
- Fish Found at Record Depth
  
  BBC | Jul 31, 08 1:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Scientists have captured a live fish from a record 7,500 feet under the Atlantic Ocean, the BBC reports. A new device allows recovery of live creatures from much farther down than was previously possible. The expedition to learn more about life around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the ocean also brought back three species of deep-sea shrimp. More »
- 'Jaws' Visits Town That Made Him Famous
  
  Associated Press | Jul 11, 08 9:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fears of a real-live great white shark gripped the island site of the film Jaws yesterday, closing two beaches amid unconfirmed reports of a sighting, the AP reports. A plane searched the waters around Martha’s Vineyard off Massachusetts but found no sign of such a beast. Great whites are rare but not unknown in New England, where Steven Spielberg filmed the 1974 movie. More »
June 2008
- Sure, Pat That Nose— It's Only a Great White
  
  Smithsonian | Jun 1, 08 8:53 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Want to pat a great white shark's nose? Or ride its fin for 100 yards? Experts say the much-feared predators are so sociable and curious, you can swim with them or even tread water by their open jaws. "Unlike most fish, white sharks are intelligent, highly inquisitive creatures," one expert tells Paul Raffaele for his worldwide Smithsonian survey. More »
May 2008
- No Octopi for Wings Fans, Seller Says
  
  Detroit Free Press | May 23, 08 8:33 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Red Wings fans, save room in that suitcase—it may be tough to buy an octopus in Pittsburgh next week. One steel-town fishmonger refuses to sell octopi to Detroit fans once the Wings-Penguins Stanley Cup finals kick off on Saturday. In a tradition spanning more than 50 years, Detroit fans have been tossing eight-leggers on the ice to boost their team, the Detroit Free Press reports. More »
- Ocean Sharks Face Extinction
  
  BBC | May 22, 08 1:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ocean sharks are threatened with extinction, with 11 species designated “high-risk” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and five more also in danger. Sharks are dwindling from intentional fishing, which targets them for their meat and fins, and “bycatch” fishing that lands them in nets meant for tuna and swordfish. The group is calling for global catch limits, the BBC reports. More »
April 2008
- Collosal Squid Has World's Biggest Eyes
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 30, 08 7:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - With eyes bigger than dinner plates and orange-sized lenses, a colossal squid being dissected by New Zealand scientists boasts the biggest peepers of any animal—and larger relatives could lurk in the deep, the Telegraph reports. It's "certainly not the largest specimen out there," said one marine biologist, who believes a fully grown colossal squid could weigh in at 1,650 pounds. More »
- Scientists Thaw Colossal Squid for Probe
  
  BBC | Apr 28, 08 10:56 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New Zealand scientists have begun defrosting a colossal squid, caught last year, so they can dissect the little-known species. They aim to start by determining the sex of the 34-foot long animal, a native of Antarctica that weighs half a ton. "They're incredibly rare—this is probably one of six specimens ever brought up," one researcher told the BBC. More »
March 2008
- Stingray Kills Boater off Fla. Keys
  
  CNN | Mar 20, 08 2:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A stingray leapt out of the water and struck a 55-year-old Michigan woman who was sunbathing on the deck of a boat off the Florida Keys yesterday, CNN reports. The woman, who was with her husband and children, was knocked to the ground and pronounced dead at a local hospital. No word on the specific cause of death yet, but local reports say she was impaled through the neck by the 75 lb. ray's barb. More »
February 2008
- Fewer Sharks, But More Attacks
  
  LiveScience | Feb 27, 08 4:26 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Shark populations are way down, but attacks on humans are up, LiveScience reports. There were 71 shark attacks worldwide in 2007, continuing a four-year upswing, says shark expert George Burgess, although populations of the fish have shrunk 50% during the past 20 years. Even so, as human populations expand rapidly, so does beach-going—and the chance of encounters spikes accordingly. More »
- Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found
  
  Daily Telegraph (UK) | Feb 20, 08 10:51 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A host of bizarre giant creatures lurk in the little-known waters of Antarctica, the Daily Telegraph reports. Thousands of specimens have been gathered by a mission to study Antarctic marine life before it is wiped out—including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates, huge sea worms, and mammoth jellyfish. "I was staggered by the size of things," said an expedition leader. More »
- Hunter: Nessie 'Probably Dead'
  
  Boston Globe | Feb 11, 08 1:38 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Two decades of silence from the depths of Loch Ness signal its most famous resident is likely dead, says the man who's searched for Nessie every summer since he says he first saw it in 1972. Ex-physicist, lawyer, and MIT professor Rob Rines, whose underwater photos are considered the best possible evidence for the creature’s existence, is hunting for the beast's skeleton, the Boston Globe reports. More »
- Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75
  
  Los Angeles Times | Feb 11, 08 7:39 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Actor Roy Scheider, famous for his roles in Jaws, All That Jazz , and The French Connection, died yesterday while being treated for multiple myeloma . He was believed to be 75 , though he sometimes gave a different age in interviews, reports the Los Angeles Times . He once predicted that the Jaws role "will be on my tombstone." More »

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Ocean Census Surprises Scientists

Puget Sound's Orcas in Trouble

Scientists Confirm Shark's Virgin Birth

Help's on Way for Cape Cod Manatee

Noisy Humans 'Drowning Out' Marine Mammals

Bucki the Whale Escapes Baltic for Open Ocean

A Shark-Hater Fesses Up

Fish Found at Record Depth

'Jaws' Visits Town That Made Him Famous

Sure, Pat That Nose— It's Only a Great White

No Octopi for Wings Fans, Seller Says

Ocean Sharks Face Extinction

Collosal Squid Has World's Biggest Eyes

Scientists Thaw Colossal Squid for Probe

Stingray Kills Boater off Fla. Keys

Fewer Sharks, But More Attacks

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found

Hunter: Nessie 'Probably Dead'

Jaws Actor Scheider Dead at 75