Posts Tagged ‘Blue Whale’
Blue whale sightings increase off South Georgia
New research suggests that blue whales may finally be returning to South Georgia decades after the end of whaling. The waters around the island in the South Atlantic were the location for some of the most devastating impacts of commercial whaling. Over 40,000 blue whales were killed during the first part of the 20th century…
Read MoreBlue whales in New Zealand found to be genetically distinct
Blue whales have long been known to frequent the waters around New Zealand but now scientists have discovered that the whales living between the North and South islands appear to be a genetically distinct population. A survey in 2014 by a team from the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University identified around 50 blue…
Read MoreWhales go from 'right-handed' to left
Scientist studying blue whale feeding habits have documented a switch from ‘right-hand’ to left when these huge creatures feed. Blue whales are similar to many other creatures when it comes to ‘handeness’ or laterality. They tend to always favour the right. However, results from a six year study of their behaviour off the coast of…
Read MoreNew research identifies three Antarctic blue whale populations
Researchers from Australia have identified three surviving populations of Antarctic blue whales, the largest creatures to have inhabited the earth. Commercial whaling in the 20th century reduced the number of these whales from nearly a quarter of a million to an estimated population of just 360 whales when whaling ended in 1972/73. Recent estimates have…
Read MoreWhy whales can help save our planet – if we let them
As Icelanders spend today assessing the damage caused by last night’s “double hurricane force” winds which battered their island, and people in north west England and southern Scotland begin the grim process of mopping up after widespread flooding in the wake of Storm Desmond, few are likely to link these extreme weather events with whales…
Read MoreBlue whale filmed in UK waters
A blue whale has been captured on film for what is thought to be the first time ever in English waters. The sighting occurred around 400km off the coast of Cornwall on the 24th August. The huge whale was spotted over a deep-sea canyon on the northern margin of the Bay of Biscay by Prof Russell Wynn, a…
Read MoreWhale song could reveal true impact of slaughter
A team of scientists is about to leave New Zealand aboard a research ship on a mission to discover just how badly whale hunts have affected the blue whale population in the Southern Ocean. The research ship, Tangaroa will track blue whale song using state-of-the-art listening equipment over a six week period in order to…
Read MoreBlue whale blues
Every whale death is a tragedy, but a dead blue whale is a big loss in every sense of the word. A young blue whale – its beauty and future potential cruelly extinguished – is arguably the greatest loss of all. I was really concerned, then, to hear a few days ago of another blue…
Read MoreNew studies reveal impact of navy sonar on whales
Two new published studies in the scientific journals Proceedings B and Biology Letters, reveal how simulated navy sonar can disturb the behaviour of blue whales and beaked whales. Despite often being considered an ‘emerging threat’ to whales and dolphins, noise pollution has been on the agenda since the 1980s – more than 30 years now.…
Read MoreA Seismic Success …?
Back in March we asked you to stand up and say no to oil and gas exploration off the southern coast of Australia, we asked you to help save critical habitat for a plethora of species including the mighty blue whale and … you’ve done it. The Problem – Bight Petroleum submitted an application to…
Read More