Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent bycatch
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Science
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
WDC2023-007 NMLC Release (16)

Seal Rescued in Marshfield Released Back Into The Wild

For Immediate Release, May 31, 2023 PLYMOUTH, MA - A young male grey seal that...

Norway ups whale kill numbers and removes whale welfare protections

The whaling season in Norway has begun on the back of disturbing announcements from the...
Image taken from an unmanned hexacopter at >100ft during a research collaboration between NOAA/SWFSC, SR3 and the Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Research authorized by NMFS permit #19091.

Southern Resident orca petition to list them under Oregon Endangered Species Act advanced

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to advance a petition seeking to protect...
Hysazu Photography

WDC and Conservation Partners Continue to Seek Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

On Friday, April 21st, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will determine whether the petition...

Why are whales so big?

A new report published by The Royal Society looks at the reasons behind how modern day whales evolved to be so much bigger than their ancestors.

Scientists examined the lengths of over 60 extinct baleen whales, based on measurements of their skulls, and compared these with 13 existing baleen whales.

Using computer models, they were able to identify how gigantism appeared in different branches of the baleen whale family tree. It appears it was a fairly recent event, with whales of over 10 metres only evolving in the last 2-3 million years, despite having been evolving for around 36 million years.

According to the authors, the revelation that it was a relatively recent change rules out the possibility that the whales grew in size in response to the size of predators such as giant sharks, or falling ocean temperatures.

Instead, they believe it was more likely a response to changes in ocean currents that began to drive cold, nutrient rich water upwards, allowing large dense blooms of prey to develop. This encouraged the evolution of large mouths and large bodies that were more efficient in moving from one patch of prey to the next. In humpback whales, different techniques for catching their prey, such as bubble-netting, have also evolved.

The findings have raised concerns about what impact a changing climate, leading to further changes in currents and ocean temperatures, might have on food availability for the large whales in the future.

Independent evolution of baleen whale gigantism linked to Plio-Pleistocene ocean dynamics
Graham J. Slater, Jeremy A. Goldbogen, Nicholas D. Pyenson
Proc. R. Soc. B 2017 284 20170546; DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0546. Published 24 May 2017