Browsing: Whales

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Right Whale Calf Hit by Boat; May Starve

Here’s a terrible story from Patch about a new-born right whale calf apparently being hit by a boat prop; the injuries may prevent it from nursing and surviving: ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg is closely monitoring a rare right whale and her calf after the calf was discovered with two open wounds on its head consistent with a boat propeller last week. “The injuries are concerning because of the severity and location of the wounds,” commented marine biologists at the research institute. “One of the injuries appears to include damage to the calf’s…

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In Search for Food, Right Whales Heading All the Way Up to the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Because of warmer water temperatures, an ever-smaller population of North Atlantic right whales is heading farther up the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in search of food. Here’s what this means not only for the whales, but also for the fishermen and cruisers in the area. Read the whole story in The New York Times: By Karen Weintraub Something happened to the population of North Atlantic right whales in the last decade, as their numbers shrank and fewer calves were born. Scientists had long speculated that a change had occurred in the whales’ sources of food.…

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California Woman’s Boat Hit Whale Last September; She’s Still Recovering

Last September 30, the boat that Melissa Thomas, a 48-year-old wildlife photographer, was riding in hit a 30-ton humpback whale in Monterey Bay, California. She was riding in the bow, and was thrown back into the boat’s windshield by the impact. She’s still recovering from her injuries. On that September Sunday, Thomas and three friends were heading out into the bay to scuba dive, when they saw several humpback whales lunge feeding not far away. Fascinated, they watched for about half an hour, and then started to drive away toward their dive spot. Suddenly a whale arched out of the…

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Rare Right Whales Enjoying a Baby Boom off Cape Cod

Right whales, so the story goes, got their name because they were the “right” whales to kill when whaling ships were active, due to the large quantities of oil and baleen they could provide. The killing was successful. Right whales are among the rarest species of whales; there are only 411 of them in the world. But now right whales seem to be enjoying a baby boom in the waters around Cape Cod. Last year, no calves were seen there. So far this year, seven right whale calves have been seen there, including three in Cape Cod Bay just this…

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Whale Dies in Philippines with 88 Pounds of Plastic in Stomach

A dead whale in the Philippines had 88 pounds of plastic trash in its body, and a whale expert said in some areas of the whale’s stomach the plastic had been there so long it was “almost like a solid brick.” The body of the whale, 15 feet long and weighing 1,000 pounds, washed ashore near the town of Mabini. It had more than 40 pounds of plastic bags in its stomach (see the picture, above), 16 rice sacks, four banana plantation-style bags, and a variety of other plastic waste. Darrell Blatchley, owner of D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City,…

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Whale Starts To Swallow Diver Off South Africa, Then Spits Him Out, Uninjured

Rainer Schimpf, 51, is a lucky man. After all, he was almost eaten up by a 50-foot whale while he was diving in the Indian Ocean off South Africa, with his head and torso inside the whale’s mouth. Fortunately, after a few seconds, the whale spat him out, and Schimpf swam back to his dive boat, unharmed. (See the video, below.) Schimpf is the director of Dive Experts Tours, and he was leading a group about 25 nm off Elizabeth Harbour, just east of Cape Town. The group was filming a sardine run that usually attracts seals, dolphins, sharks, penguins…

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Dead Whales Washing Up on Outer Banks Beaches. At Least One Hit by a Ship

A growing number of dead whales are washing up on beaches on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Some appear to have been hit by ships, but others have died of still unknown causes. The latest incidents involve four dead whales found on beaches in the Outer Banks in just two weeks earlier this month, part of a rising death toll over the past two years. One humpback whale was found on a beach in Corolla, which is on the Outer Banks between Kitty Hawk and Virginia Beach. Another, also a humpback, was found the same day not far away…

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Increasing Noise from Ships, Offshore Drilling, Threatens Marine Life

The oceans are getting louder, with increased noise levels coming from ever-larger commercial ships and new offshore drilling. And the new sound levels are so high that they pose health problems for marine life from right whales to plankton. The newest problem is coming from seismic air guns used for offshore drilling in oil and gas exploration. The Administration has allowed offshore drilling, with seismic mapping, along the Atlantic coast from Florida to the Northeast. Similar exploration and seismic mapping, with the use of air guns, is expected soon along the Gulf Coast and the Pacific Coast as well. “They…

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2018: A Bad Year for Manatees in Florida and Whales off California

Last year was a bad time for manatees in Florida and whales off California, with an increasing number of boat-related manatee deaths and more whales entangled in fishing nets and lines. In Florida, 2018 saw the second-highest number of manatee deaths ever. Indeed, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) reported that more than 800 manatees died in 2018, a 50 percent increase over the previous year. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission said it was the highest number of deaths in any year except 2013, with 818, a year with a long cold spell. More than a quarter…

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Dead Whale in Indonesia Had 1,000 Pieces of Plastic in Its Stomach, Including Flip Flops

A dead 31-foot sperm whale washed up on a beach in a popular resort area of Indonesia recently with more than 1,000 pieces of plastic in its stomach, including 115 cups, 25 bags and two flip flops. All told, the plastic in the whale’s stomach weighed 13 pounds. State officials who were called to the scene near Kapota Island couldn’t tell if the plastic killed the whale or whether it died of other causes. Indonesia is one of the largest producers of plastic waste in the world, along with China. This was not the first such incident in that part…