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Whales

A bottlenose dolphin is seen "bow riding," or swimming just in front of a humpback whale, potentially getting a boost from the wave created by the larger mammal.

Whales and Dolphins Interact More Often Than Scientists Thought, Engaging in Mutual Play, Study Suggests

Researchers analyzed nearly 200 videos and photographs documenting interactions between the various kinds of cetaceans

An illustration of a mother and calf Janjucetus dullardi, a newly discovered tiny whale species with a sharp bite

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Prehistoric Whale Is ‘Deceptively Cute’—It’s Tiny but Has a Mouth Full of Razor-Sharp Teeth

Found on the southern coast of Australia, the species could fill gaps in scientists’ understanding of baleen whale evolution

Scientists filmed the way killer whales hunt together. These images show one of the animals turning toward the other after a tail slap delivers a shock to herring.

Killer Whales Hunt Fish in Highly Coordinated Pairs and Perfect Their Movements With Practice, Drone Videos Reveal

Footage taken off the coast of Norway reveals that orcas team up to maximize their prey, according to a new study

The Earl of Chatham, previously a Royal Navy vessel called the HMS Hind, was discovered in February 2024 on the shores of Sanday.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Boy Found a Shipwreck on a Scottish Beach. It Turned Out to Be a 250-Year-Old Warship From the American Revolution

The HMS “Hind,” later renamed the “Earl of Chatham,” was a frigate in the British Royal Navy before it was repurposed as a whaling vessel

A large prawn walks over a field of mineral-rich nodules in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).

As Interest in Deep-Sea Mining Grows, Scientists Raise Alarms About the Possible Ecological Consequences

Gathering minerals such as nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium from the seabed could affect everything from sponges to whales. The long-term effects of these extractions remain uncertain

Orcas are highly social creatures that often share prey with each other. Now, new research suggests they're extending this behavior to humans.

Orcas Appear to Be Sharing Their Prey With Humans—but What Does It Mean?

Researchers documented 34 instances of purported prey-sharing behavior, which suggests orcas may be altruistic and capable of recognizing sentience in another species

Two killer whales "allokelping" with a kelp stem between them

These Killer Whales Make Tools From Kelp to Massage Each Other in a Newly Discovered Grooming Behavior

Dubbed “allokelping,” it might be a unique cultural phenomenon that’s as endangered as the orca population itself

Stone Age humans were likely scavenging the remains of whales that washed ashore along the Bay of Biscay and fashioning them into tools. This projectile point made from a gray whale bone was found in Landes, France, and dated to between 17,500 and 18,000 years ago.

Scientists Discover the Oldest Known Tools Made From Whale Bones, Crafted in Western Europe 20,000 Years Ago

Stone Age humans scavenged the skeletons of several whale species along the Bay of Biscay in what is now southwestern France and northern Spain, according to a new study

Humpback whales have poorer eyesight than previously thought, according to a new study.

Humpback Whales Can’t See as Well as Scientists Thought, and It Might Explain Why They Keep Getting Tangled in Fishing Gear

Despite having big eyes, the whales can’t make out details of objects more than a few body lengths away, according to a new study

Scoresby Sund in Eastern Greenland is the largest fjord system in the world.

Nine Ways to Experience Greenland’s Unique Culture and Icy Landscapes

The first-ever direct flights from the United States to Greenland will give tourists easier access to the island’s history, culture and natural wonders

A mother and baby whale spotted swimming near Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. 

Humpback Whales Give Birth Much Farther South Than Previously Thought, Study Finds

Researchers in Australia found records of humpback whale calves more than 900 miles farther south than expected

A species of remipede known from the Caicos Islands. The photograph was taken by a member of a multinational team looking for rare species. Remipedes are crustaceans that are close relatives to insects.

You Might Think of Shrimp as Bugs of the Sea. But a Remarkable Discovery Shows the Opposite: Bugs Are Actually Shrimp of the Land

A recent study suggests that insects branched out from crustaceans on the tree of life

The black and peachy-orange orca calf was seen swimming with, Sedna, a descendant of one of the Budd Inlet Six.

New Orca Calf Is a Descendant of the ‘Budd Inlet Six,’ the Last Killer Whales Captured in United States Waters in 1976

The black and slightly orange Bigg’s killer whale was spotted swimming with its mother, Sedna, in the Salish Sea

A new study suggests that the lemon shark, pictured here, is a better analogue for the megalodon's size than a great white.

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

A new paper suggests the enormous, extinct shark looked less like a bulky great white and more like an elongated lemon shark

A pod of 157 false killer whales washed up on a beach in Tasmania.

Pod of 157 False Killer Whales Stranded on a Tasmania Beach Could Not Be Rescued, Wildlife Officials Say

In the area’s largest stranding event for the species since the 1970s, experts decided euthanasia was the most humane course of action

This adult Rice's whale skull at the National Museum of Natural History is the only specimen of its kind.

Only 50 Rice’s Whales Are Left. Can We Do Enough to Protect Them Before It’s Too Late?

In 2021, researchers identified a new whale species and are now scrambling to save their natural habitat

A humpback whale

Humpback Whale Song Shares a Key Pattern With Human Language That Might Make It Easier for the Animals to Learn

Despite humans and whales being separated by millions of years of evolution, our vocalizations follow the same principle outlined in Zipf’s law

A skin diver swims with a sperm whale in the Caribbean off of Dominica.

Eight Natural Phenomena Worth Traveling for in 2025

You won’t regret experiencing bioluminescence, swimming with sperm whales or witnessing the rush of a horizontal waterfall

The finished national anthem included the calls of 41 birds.

How Scientists and Composers Teamed Up to Create a Stunning Natural Version of Colombia’s National Anthem

A team trekked for two weeks and collected the sounds of birds, frogs, a jaguar and whales in order to make the song

Two women follow along during the Moby Dick reading marathon at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Thousands of Book Lovers Gather for a 25-Hour-Long ‘Moby Dick’ Reading Marathon

The annual event takes place in the Massachusetts town of New Bedford, which is where Herman Melville’s celebrated 1851 novel opens

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