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Meet the 2023 Interns: Kaylee McKenna

I'm excited to introduce Kaylee McKenna as WDC's summer Marine Mammal Conservation Intern. Kaylee has...
Lasting legacies

Lasting Legacies: Orca Action Month 2023

Each June we celebrate Orca Month and the unique community of Southern Resident orcas, and this...
North Atlantic right whale - Peter Flood

Whale AID 2023: A Night of Music and Hope for North Atlantic Right Whales

The inaugural Whale AID concert to support Whale and Dolphin Conservation's (WDC's) work to protect...
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Meet the 2023 Interns: Thomas Zoutis

I'm happy to introduce WDC's first Marine Mammal Conservation Intern of the year, Thomas Zoutis!...
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Double Your Impact for Marine Animal Rescue & Response

On a chilly day this past December, the WDC North America team celebrated the first...
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WDC’s Education Wishlist = Cleared!

To the WDC Community, I want to thank you so much for your support of...
Hysazu Photography

Looking forward for Southern Resident orcas in 2023

Hysazu Photography 2022 was a big year for Southern Resident orcas - 2022 brought the...
Credit: Seacoast Science Center

The Unlikely Adventure of Shoebert, a Young Grey Seal Who Visited an Industrial Park Pond

Credit: Seacoast Science Center In mid-September, our stranding partners in northern Massachusetts were inundated with...

Whale graveyard uncovered

Scientists have uncovered what is thought to be the world’s largest whale graveyard after stumbling across dozens of skeletons of fossilised baleen whales whilst carrying out construction works on the Pan-American highway in Chile.

Although the area, known as Cerro Ballena or “whale hill”, is famed locally for its abundance of hidden and fossilised skeletons, the newly discovered collection of fossils, some in perfect condition, make this part of the Atacama region in Chile world-famous.

Adopt a humpback whale

Having lain undisturbed for between six and nine million years, scientists believe that the whales all ended up on “whale hill” as a result of four separate mass stranding over a period of 10,000 years. The fossilised remains included skeletons of an extinct species of sperm whale, a walrus-toothed whale and an aquatic sloth however researchers believe that this discovery is just the tip of the iceberg and that many more remain hidden awaiting discovery.

One of the palaeontologists noted “we managed to sample all the superstars of the fossil marine-mammal world in south America in the Late Miocene. Just an incredibly dense accumulation of species.” This bodes for exciting times in marine mammal science as our knowledge of extinct species and cetacean evolution is about to be radically expanded.