Browsing: Whales

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Whale Shark, the Biggest Fish in the Sea, Surfaces Behind Fishing Boat Off Charleston. See the Video

Whale sharks, the largest fish in the sea, usually live in the tropics. About the size of a school bus, growing to 40 feet long and weighing in at 20 tons, they prefer warm water, migrating every spring to the continental shelf off central west Australia, where the Ningaloo Reef provides them with an abundant supply of plankton, their food of choice. So Michael Krivohlavek, 21, a mate for Daymaker Sport Fishing Charters out of Charleston, S.C., was surprised to see a whale shark surface behind his boat recently. The fishing boat was in 150 feet of water about 36…

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Boat Hits Whale Off Long Beach, California. Fire Department Issues Warnings

A boat hit a humpback whale off Barrier Island near Long Beach, California, and the Fire Department there warned boaters there to keep at least 300 feet away from whales in the future. The Fire Department also posted the picture above on Facebook, showing boats much closer than that to a whale near the harbor. “Boaters, this is unacceptable,” the Fire Department wrote. “These boats are way, way too close to our friendly neighbors (whales) who’ve come to our shores for a visit. Not only is it dangerous to get so up close and personal, it’s also illegal.” The Fire…

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Whale Dies on Beach in Thailand After Eating 18 Plastic Bags Weighing 80 Pounds

An ailing pilot whale that washed up in a beach in southern Thailand had 18 plastic bags weighing 80 pounds in its stomach. Despite attempts by marine conservationists to save the whale, it died five days later. They say the plastic bags clogged up the whale’s digestive tract and it wasn’t able to eat. In essence, the whale starved to death. After the whale died, a necropsy showed the extent of the plastic in its stomach. Stories and pictures of the whale promoted an outrage in social media. Each year, more than 300 endangered sea turtles and 150 dolphins and…

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Humpback Whales Enjoying Baby Boom in the Antarctic

Here’s some good news: Humpback whales are making a comeback in the Antarctic; in fact, they’re enjoying something of a baby boom. A new study under Ari Friedlaender of the University of California at Santa Cruz reports that female humpback whales are having higher pregnancy rates and giving birth to more calves in recent years than previously. The whales were almost hunted out of existence in the late 19thcentury and for most of the 20thcentury, until international treaties were signed to protect them. The whales, which grow to the size of a school bus, have life spans similar to ours.…

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Endangered Right Whales Now in Areas Off Boston and Cape Cod; Coast Guard Warns Mariners

The Coast Guard is urging mariners to be aware of many groups of right whales in the area from Boston Light to Marshfield, Massachusetts, and to stay at least 500 yards away from them. Under the Endangered Species Act, it is against the law to approach within 500 yards of a North Atlantic right whale in a vessel, an aircraft (including drones) or by any other means, or to fail to take avoidance measures, including steering away from the whale and immediately leaving the area at a slow speed. Right whales are surface feeders, and they often eat on the…

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Absolutely Great Video and Still Pictures of a Pod of Orcas Swimming 20 Miles Off San Diego

Here are some of the best whale pictures I’ve ever seen, both video and stills, taken by a San Diego marine photographer about 20 miles offshore on a beautiful, clear, blue day. Dominic Biagini, of La Jolla, who works for Captain Dave’s Dolphin Safaris, a whale-watching business on Dana Point, took something of a busman’s holiday when a friend was visiting recently from Chicago. He took the friend out on a private boat in search of whales. As he told Fox 5 in the story below, after an hour or so they came across a pod of six orcas, swimming by…

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Sperm Whale Killed by Eating 64 Pounds of Plastic

A dead 33-foot sperm whale washed up on a beach on the southern coast of Spain recently, and an autopsy showed it was killed by 64 pounds of plastic that had become lodged in its stomach. Local scientists were puzzled by what had killed the whale, until doctors from the El Valle Wildlife Recovery Center performed the autopsy. They found plastic bags, a jerry can and pieces of rope and fishing nets in the whale’s stomach. They said it died because it could not expel the plastic and that blockage in the digestive system caused a fatal infection. More than…

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Why Are Whales So Big? New Study Says They Need To Keep Warm

Traditionally, scientists have thought that whales get so big because the buoyance of water frees them from the constraints of gravity. On land, for example, elephants can only get so big before they topple over. The buoyance issue may still be the case for whales, but new research provides another answer: They need to be big to keep themselves warm in cold water. “It’s not that they could be big,” says William Gearty, an ecologist at Stanford, who lead the new study. “It’s that they must be big.” Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new…

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Some 150 Pilot Whales Die on Beach in Western Australia, Despite Major Rescue Efforts

Almost all of the 150 beached whales have died in a mass stranding in Hamelin Bay, about 180 miles south of Perth in Western Australia. Just a handful have survived, while more than 100 volunteers are trying to return them to deep water. Meanwhile, the government has issued a shark alert since sharks have become frenzied in their efforts to reach some whale carcasses in the water. The beached whales were first spotted by a local fisherman. Rescue attempts were thwarted by deteriorating weather conditions and the rocky shoreline, plus the weight and size of the whales. These whales are…

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NOAA Saves Humpback Whale with 340 Feet of Line in Its Mouth

A NOAA response team rescued an adult humpback whale that had 340 feet of heavy line caught in its mouth off Maui, in the Hawaii Islands. After the line was cut away and the whale was free, a NOAA official said “the animal immediately breached several times.” The first report of a whale in trouble came from the captain of a fishing boat off Lahaina, Maui, who saw the whale trailing some heavy line. A NOAA team on a small RIB responded quickly, but they said the whale was “very active” at first. Using pole cameras and other gear, they…

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