Articles tagged as Whales | Smithsonian Magazine

The body of a young female beaked whale washed ashore in South Australia

Cool Finds

Rare Beaked Whale Washes Ashore in Australia

Sporting unusual teeth, the young female offers researchers a chance to study an elusive cetacean

May 17, 2016

Sperm whales, giant squid and humans all have a mitochondrial "Eve."

Cool Finds

Your High-End Perfume Is Likely Part Whale Mucus

A single pound of “whale vomit” can be worth tens of thousands of dollars

April 14, 2016

But the orcas currently living in its parks will remain there for the rest of their lives

March 17, 2016

A right whale spotted off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada in 2011.

Decades have passed since the endangered species regularly frequented Cape Cod Bay

March 15, 2016

Why Do Beluga Whales Blow Bubbles?

The animal’s whimsical pastime offers insight into the mammalian brain

March 2016

A beached sperm whale on January 13, in Wangerooge, Germany

The cause of the cetacean tragedy is still a mystery

January 29, 2016

Crews abandon their ships during the Great Whaling Disaster of 1871.

Cool Finds

Remnants of a Whaling Disaster Have Been Discovered off the Coast of Alaska

A catastrophe wiped out an entire whaling fleet 144 years ago, now researchers have found some of the wrecks’ remains

January 8, 2016

Scientists expect about 10,000 whales to visit Hawaii’s tropical waters this winter—but they’re taking their time

January 4, 2016

Logs like this one are being digitized in museums all over New England and used to help scientists understand climate change.

A new crowdsourcing project lets amateur enthusiasts contribute, too

December 17, 2015

A NOAA archaeologist examines the wreck of Two Brothers in Hawaii.

Cool Finds

NOAA Made a Sequel to ‘In the Heart of the Sea’

Because the story that inspired Moby-Dick is just the beginning

December 11, 2015

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

December 10, 2015

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

December 1, 2015

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

December 2015

Trending Today

So Long Shamu Show

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

November 10, 2015

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

October 27, 2015

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

October 5, 2015

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

September 10, 2015

Cool Finds

These Drones Hunt Whale Snot

Snotbots will make mucus collection less stressful for whales

July 27, 2015

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

July 20, 2015

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

April 15, 2015