Latest Cetaceans Stories
SAN FRANCISCO, July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Sea World is responsible for the death of thousands of dolphins and whales, so states former Sea World biologist Dr. John Hall. That is the thread of the first comprehensive documentary film to explore the sordid history of the captive whale and dolphin display industry. A Fall From Freedom, an 82-minute film produced by San Francisco-based EarthViews Productions, includes interviews with scientists, marine mammal biologists, former trainers,...
Georgetown scientist teams up with dolphin experts to explore the sea animals' 'mysterious' wound healing abilitiesA Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) scientist who has previously discovered antimicrobial compounds in the skin of frogs and in the dogfish shark has now turned his attention to the remarkable wound healing abilities of dolphins.A dolphin's ability to heal quickly from a shark bite with apparent indifference to pain, resistance to infection, hemorrhage protection, and...
The Obama administration has threatened Iceland with possible trade and diplomatic sanctions under a U.S. law known as the Pelly Amendment, which allows the president to act against foreign nations who defy international animal conservation rules.Under pressure by environmental groups, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke certified Iceland under the domestic law, which paves the way for retaliation against nations that break the International Whaling Commission's moratorium.The U.S. is particularly...
Japan and the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd exchanged barbs on Tuesday during a world whaling conference over the issue of hunting of cetaceans in waters around Antarctica.In a plenary session of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which oversees the hunting and the protection of cetaceans, Japanese delegation chief Kenji Kagawa described Sea Shepherd's pursuit of Japanese whaling ships as "sabotage", and accused the group of engaging in "violent and illegal...
Delegates meeting at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) conference in the Channel Islands warn that oil and gas exploration in the Russian Far East continues to threaten the livelihood of the critically endangered gray whale that spends its summer feeding along Sakhalin Island, according to a recent BBC News report. IWC scientists say that companies using seismic guns to find oil and gas in the area are taking steps to reduce impact, but they said those companies need to do more to...
This year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in the Channel Islands is expected to include hot topics on whaling by indigenous peoples and reforms to prevent "votes for cash" allegations.The UK is proposing reforms to make the IWC more open, while some are angry about US plans to maintain hunting by Alaskan natives.The meeting will also discuss proposals to ensure good practice in the whale-watching industry worldwide, and a bid to make the South Atlantic a sanctuary for whales....
Wide range of food sources allowed higher populations needed to withstand glacial periodsGray whales survived many cycles of global cooling and warming over the past few million years, likely by exploiting a more varied diet than they do today, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, and Smithsonian Institution paleontologists.The researchers, who analyzed California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) responses to climate change over the past 120,000 years, also found...
YORK, England, June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to preserving the environment, including the planet's wildlife, Intelsius, a global manufacturer and distributor of environmentally safe, temperature-controlled and regulatory-compliant packaging solutions, will donate proceeds from every Intelsius ORCATHERM(TM) and ORCATHERM LITE unit sold to ORCA, a leading whale and dolphin conservation charity. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101012/DE80101LOGO ) "We all...
After being hunted to local extinction more than a century ago and unable to remember their ancestral calving grounds, the southern right whales of mainland New Zealand are coming home.A new study published today has shown for the first time that whales from a small surviving population around remote, sub-Antarctic islands have found their way back to the New Zealand mainland.Before the onslaught of 19th century whaling, historical records suggest that up to 30,000 of these impressive whales...
Marine biologist David Wiley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others report in the latest issue of Behaviour (Volume 148, Nos. 5-6) how humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine catch prey with advanced water technology. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are large baleen whales (up to 14 m long) that feed on a small prey in dense concentrations, such as krill or herrings.Humpbacks whales have large flukes relative to their size providing greater thrust for...
Latest Cetaceans Reference Libraries
Image Caption: Fossil of Feresa Attenuata, Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum KAIKYOUKAN, Japan. Credit: OpenCage/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 2.5) The pygmy killer whale is widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters worldwide. Regular sightings of this species occur off the coast of Hawaii and Japan, and also in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka and Lesser Antilles. In the Atlantic the pygmy killer whale has been seen off the coast of South Carolina and Senegal. This species swims in...
The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) is a true seal that can be found around the whole of Antarctica. Its range also includes small areas in South America, New Zealand, Africa, and Australia. It resides on the pack ice zone for the entire year, even as it shifts seasonally, and prefers to stay in the continental shelf area in water with a depth of less than 1,968 feet. Because the populations are so wide spread and are sufficiently mixed, there have been no subspecies found. Because...
The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is believed to be the largest toothed animal to ever inhabit Earth, measuring up to 60 ft (18 m) long. (The baleen blue whale is larger, and invertebrates such as the Lion's Mane Jellyfish or the Portuguese Man of War may be longer.) The whale was named after the milky-white substance spermaceti found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The Sperm Whale's enormous head and distinctive shape, as well as...
The False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a cetacean and one of the larger members of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. As its name implies the False Killer Whale shares characteristics with the more widely known orca ("killer whale"). The two species look somewhat similar and, like the orca, the False Killer Whale attacks and kills other cetaceans. Scientists have not extensively studied the False Killer Whale...
The Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra; other names are many-toothed blackfish and electra dolphin) is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It is closely related to the Pygmy Killer Whale and the Pilot Whales, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. The Melon-headed Whale is widespread throughout the world's tropical waters, although not often seen by humans on account of its preference for deep water. Taxonomy On account...
