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Our climate report highlights dramatic impacts on whales and dolphins

A new WDC report highlights the dramatic effect on whales and dolphins from climate change,...
© New England Aquarium and Canadian Whale Institute under DFO Canada SARA permit

Scientists unveil new names for 19 North Atlantic right whales

December 6, 2023 - Contact: Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, (508) 451-3853, [email protected] Pam...
© Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by United States Army Corps of Engineers

Birth announcement! First right whale calf of the 2024 calving season spotted

November 29, 2023 - On November 28th, researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute...
© Peter Flood

Two New England-based nonprofits awarded nearly $400k federal grant

© Peter Flood November 20, 2023 - Contact: Jake O'Neill, Conservation Law Foundation, (617) 850-1709,...

New research reveals harbour porpoise hunting skills

The harbour porpoise might be one of the smallest cetaceans (the collective name for whales, dolphins and porpoises) but findings in a new report from Danish scientists reveal that it when it comes to success in hunting its prey, it has few rivals.

Being small (less than two metres long) with a high metabolic rate and living in cool or cold waters means that the porpoise must feed continuously both day and night to provide the energy needed to survive, eating enough fish to replenish as much as 10% of its own body weight each day.

Like other toothed whales and dolphins, porpoises use echolocation to find their prey but the research reveals that porpoises have around a 90% success rate, consuming over 500 fish every hour. With the need to be continuously hunting, the findings also raise concerns about how even a small impact from human activities could have a potentially devastating impact on these creatures, making them vulnerable to threats such disturbance from noise or habitat loss.

For the full report:
Ultra-High Foraging Rates of Harbor Porpoises Make Them Vulnerable to Anthropogenic Disturbance
Wisniewska, Danuta Maria et al. Current Biology