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Whales

Maybe the white whale just wanted a hyphen.

Cool Finds

Why Does Moby-Dick (Sometimes) Have a Hyphen?

The hunt for the true story behind Melville’s hyphen is as mysterious as the famous white whale

An Antarctic minke whale, the animal Japanese whaling vessels target

Trending Today

Japan Starts its Whale Hunt Again

Despite an international ruling, the Japanese fleet plans to harvest 333 minke whales

In 1856, a Nantucket sailor sketched the killing of his crew’s “100-barrel” prize.

How Nantucket Came to Be the Whaling Capital of the World

Ron Howard’s new film “In the Heart of the Sea” captures the greed and blood lust of the Massachusetts island

Trending Today

So Long Shamu Show

In the face of criticism, SeaWorld is retiring its controversial killer whale show

Scientists tracked the growth of young whales compared to images taken last year.

Cool Finds

Drones Captured These ‘Killer’ Whale Family Portraits

Not just beautiful, these photos show that raising killer whale calves is a family affair

Cool Finds

Here’s What Whale Songs Look Like as Sheet Music

Musical notation created by a musician and a designer make whale song look almost like an alien language

New Research

Whales Have Dialects. Could They Have Cultures Too?

Unique click patterns point to the possibility of differing cultures among groups of sperm whales

Cool Finds

These Drones Hunt Whale Snot

Snotbots will make mucus collection less stressful for whales

Screen shot from "The Whale Warehouse - AudioVision Ep. 1" via Vimeo

Cool Finds

In L.A. There’s a Warehouse Filled with Whale Bones

A video offers a tour of the Whale Warehouse, which holds a large part of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County’s marine mammal collection

A blue whale surfacing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Cool Finds

Maybe the World’s Loneliest Whale Isn’t So Isolated, After All

Some evidence indicates that the singer of a higher-pitched whale song may not be alone

Trending Today

Court Rules Navy Noise Causes Too Much Harm to Marine Mammals

A federal judge declares the National Marine Fisheries Service did not do its job to protect dolphins and whales

Cool Finds

A Group of Endangered Orcas Has Gotten Busy Making Babies

Southern Resident killer whales have been on the decline, but new babies bring hope for the future

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Discussion April 2015

From our readers

Bust some ghosts in this board game based on the 1984 classic.

This Week in Crowdfunding

A Ghostbusters Board Game, Lights That Respond to Music and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Also, a sensor that uses thermal technology to track the amount of gas left in a tank

A man butchers a whale in 1968

New Research

We Now Have a Toll of All the Whales Killed by Hunting in the Last Century

The whaling industry killed nearly 3 million for their oil, researchers estimate. But the true total is likely higher.

A blue whale specimen, dating from 1936, from the Gulf of Mexico is part of a rare Smithsonian collection of whale fetuses.

New Research

Rare Collection of Whale Fetuses Reveals the Evolution of Cetacean Hearing

Smithsonian researchers offer up an unprecedented glimpse at the development of the “acoustic funnel,” an ear area found exclusively in whales

Killer whale mothers know best.

New Research

After Menopause, Killer Whale Moms Become Pod Leaders

When their reproductive years are done, females take on new roles as wise survival guides

Cool Finds

What Makes Some Orca Whales Love a Good Belly Rub?

Some pods have been observed rubbing themselves on rocky beaches; scientists are still working to understand why

New Research

Scientists Finally Know How Baleen Whales Hear

A beached whale, a supercomputer, a scientific mystery solved

An illustration depicts a bowhead whale and its calf.

New Research

Listen to Newly Discovered Bowhead Whale Songs

Bowhead songs have been elusive, but researchers managed to record 12 unique songs using hydrophones

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