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Whales

An orca hunts sea lion pups on a beach in Argentina.

Five Astounding Orca Behaviors Explained, From Ramming Boats to Hunting Great White Sharks

The apex predators also surge onto shorelines to capture seals and engage in mysterious greeting ceremonies

Sightseers spotted the rarely seen creatures on a Monterey Bay Whale Watch boat tour off the coast of California.

Tourists Spot ‘Incredibly Rare’ Whales Off California Coast

Cuvier’s beaked whales can hold their breath for hours and don’t spend much time at the surface, making them mysterious—and a treat to see

A 1658 map of Iceland, reprinted from Abraham Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, includes a sea monster known for catching its fish through cunning.

What Medieval Manuscripts Reveal About the Hidden History of Whales

A clever cetacean feeding trick may have launched a legend

In 1860, Lieutenant John M. Brooke wrote, “I am satisfied that [Manjiro] has had more to do with the opening of Japan than any other man living.” 

The Shipwrecked Teenager Who Helped End Japan’s Isolationist Era

Rescued by an American sea captain, Manjiro spent time abroad before returning home, where he was valued for his expertise but never fully trusted

Using suction-cup sensors attached to three humpback whales, researchers captured video footage of the animals rolling around on the ocean floor.

Watch Whales Exfoliate Their Skin on the Ocean Floor

Migrating humpbacks used sand and rubble to slough off dead skin and barnacles, a behavior that may be both practical and social

Many giant animals roamed the Earth after non-avian dinosaurs went extinct.

After Dinosaurs Went Extinct, These Ten Giant Creatures Roamed the Earth

Though we often think of the “terrible lizards” as behemoths, many later reptiles and mammals also grew to massive sizes

Scan of a porpoise head showing the phonic lips, which help produce echolocation clicks, and the round, fatty melon that conducts sound into the water

Some Whales Use a Creaky ‘Vocal Fry’ Voice to Find Food

Like humans, toothed whales have three vocal registers: chest, falsetto and vocal fry

A digital reconstruction of a humpback whale trap feeding, a behavior with striking similarities to the feeding habits of the "hafgufa" described in medieval Norse texts.

These Mythical Sea Monsters May Have Been Whales With Unusual Dining Habits

Tales of creatures like the Norse “hafgufa” suggest ancient and medieval people may have seen whales trap feeding

Whales are tricky to see from a satellite. Belugas, with their light skin standing out against the water, are a bit easier to spot.

Can Satellites Really Detect Whales From Space?

Distant identification of whales is improving rapidly, but finding the behemoth creatures is still surprisingly tricky

This year's picks include Black Lion, The Catch Me If You Can and The Slow Road to Tehran.

The Best Books of 2022

The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2022

After two years of limited travel opportunities, we’re ready to explore the world once more

Whole Foods will stop buying Maine lobster December 15.

Whole Foods Will Stop Selling Maine Lobster, Citing Risks to Endangered Whales

Fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales remain, and the marine mammals can become entangled in fishing gear

A pod of killer whales swims together in Chatham Strait, Alaska. 

Video Footage Captures Orcas Killing Great White Sharks

The predation could explain why the sharks have been locally declining in recent years

About 230 pilot whales were stranded on an Australian beach. 

About 200 Stranded Whales Die on Australian Beach

Rescue operations saved around 30 of the animals

Fishers caught about 108 million pounds of lobster in 2021, valuing a record $725 million at the docks.

Lobsters Placed on ‘Red List,’ Angering Maine Fishing Community

Seafood Watch announced that consumers should avoid lobsters, because their traps threaten the endangered North Atlantic right whale

Along the Vietnamese coast, temples constructed in reverence to whales and other marine mammals—such as this one in Phan Thiet—house valuable information on the country’s little-studied cetaceans.

Inside Vietnam’s Whale Temples

Centuries-old whale worship shrines are shedding light on the diversity and distribution of marine mammals off the country’s coast

Ignacio Mundo measures one of the ship’s ribs

Can Tree Rings Solve the Mystery of a 19th-Century American Shipwreck?

A wreck off the coast of Argentina is likely a Rhode Island whaling vessel from the 1850s

A pod of orcas feeding in the Atlantic Ocean

Orcas Are Breaking Rudders Off Boats in Europe

These interactions around Spain and Portugal might be a trend among juveniles, scientists say

In the Mediterranean Sea, ship strikes are the leading cause of death for sperm whales.

A New Detection System Could Save Sperm Whales From Ship Strikes

Scientists have developed a computational technique that can track whales in real time—and potentially prevent collisions

Researcher David Webster of the University of North Carolina Wilmington prepares the bones of an Atlantic gray whale for transfer to the National Museum of Natural History.

Scientists Find Most Complete Atlantic Gray Whale Skeleton Ever

The fossil, uncovered in North Carolina, shows signs of butchering

Footage of the beluga whales is captured by the beluga research vessel, Delphi, which uses two cameras, one underwater and one above deck to observe 55,000 beluga whales migrate to the Hudson Bay's shallow waters.

Watch Thousands of Beluga Whales Migrate From the Arctic

Two webcams give a front-row seat to the whales’ daily activities

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