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Whales

Nine Gray Whales Have Washed Up Dead in the San Francisco Bay Area

Some were hit by ships, but others died of malnourishment—a sign that the whales’ Arctic food sources may have been disrupted

Narwhals Have Low Genetic Diversity—and They’re Doing Fine

A new study has traced this puzzling phenomenon to a gradual decline in the whales’ population, followed by a rapid increase around 30,000 years ago

Orcas kill great white sharks, then eat their calorie-dense livers.

New Research

Great White Sharks Are Completely Terrified of Orcas

A new study shows the apex predators will flee their hunting grounds and won’t return for up to a year when killer whales pass by

EgNo 4180 and her 2019 calf photographed by the CCS aerial survey team in Cape Cod Bay on 4/11/19.

Three Endangered Right Whale Calves Spotted in New England Waters

A total of seven calves have been born this year, but the species is not ‘out of the woods,’ researchers say

Pools where 11 orcas and 90 belugas—all caught illegally—were kept, in Srednyaya Bay near the city of Nakhodka in Russia's Far East, according to Getty. The whale were going to be sold to Chinese amusement parks.

Russia Will Free 97 Orcas, Belugas Held in Cramped ‘Whale Jail’ Since Last Summer

Authorities and international scientists have signed an agreement pledging to release the whales “back into their natural environment”

Artistic reconstruction of two individuals of Peregocetus, one standing along the rocky shore of nowadays Peru and the other preying upon fish. The presence of a tail fluke remains hypothetical.

How Did Whales Reach the Americas? A Four-Legged Fossil Offers New Clues

Dubbed Peregocetus pacificus, the newly-described species was adapted to life both in and out of the water

Pregnant Whale With 48 Pounds of Plastic in Her Stomach Washes Ashore in Italy

Among the refuse found in her digestive tract were garbage bags, fishing nets and a bag of liquid detergent

Researchers crossed paths with a pod of Type D whales during a January expedition

A New Orca Species May Have Been Spotted Off the Coast of Chile

Until now, the so-called Type D killer whale has been the stuff of legends, eluding scientists while sneaking snacks off of fishermen’s lines

It’s likely the beached calf was separated from its mother during the humpback whales’ mass migration south

As Humpback Whales Migrate to Antarctica, One Straggler Washes Ashore in the Amazon

Scientists found the one-year-old calf’s carcass around 50 feet inland on a remote Brazilian island

‘Bouncing’ Baby Orca Spotted Among Endangered Population

Researchers hope the new baby will reverse an unfortunate trend that has seen no southern resident orca calves survive over the past three years

Cormac Hondros-McCarthy, Lauren Shum, Parth Sagdeo and Ted Zhu celebrate their successful top prize spot at the Make for the Planet Borneo hackathon in Kuching, Malaysia in June 2018.

This Lobster Trap Aims to Protect Endangered Whales — and Fishers’ Livelihoods

A team of engineers is designing a low-cost, lineless, self-surfacing lobster trap that would prevent right whale entanglement

Magnet, one of the endangered North Atlantic right whales returning to their wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida.

Cool Finds

First Right Whale Calf in Two Years Spotted Off Florida Coast

A mother and calf were recently sighted along with several possibly pregnant endangered North Atlantic right whales

Harpoon aboard a Japanese whaling ship

Japan to Launch Commercial Whaling Operations This Summer

The country has announced that it is leaving the International Whaling Commission

Southern resident killer whales

Washington Governor Proposes Dramatic Plan to Save Dying Orca Population

The plan will require $1.1 billion and involve a number of controversial measures

Up to 145 whales were discovered on the shores of Stewart Island last Saturday evening.

200 Whales Have Died in Three Mass Strandings on New Zealand’s Shores

Experts do not fully understand why whales beach themselves, but the recent incidents do not appear to be linked

Baleen is the soft, hair-like structure on the upper mouth of whales, such as the humpback whale in this photo, which allows them to trap prey in their mouth.

Prehistoric Whale Jaw Bone Sheds Light on the Evolution of Baleen

Hidden in a museums’ collections for years, a fossil provides a link between past and present feeding mechanisms

Whales Change Their Tune Every Few Years

After becoming increasingly complex over a period of years, the songs are ditched in favor of simpler ditties, a new study has found

New Research

We Know How Stressed Whales Are Because Scientists Looked At Their Earwax

A new study looks at stress hormone levels in whale ear wax, showing how hunting and climate change have impacted he giant beasts

Listen in on Orca Chatter with a New App

The team behind the app hopes that citizen scientists will help experts locate struggling southern resident killer whales

The fossilized crania of three long-snouted cetaceans.

The Mystery of Ancient Dolphins’ Super-Long Snouts

A new study suggests the extinct cetaceans used their snouts to hit and stun prey, much as swordfish do

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