Posts Tagged ‘Humpback whale’
Meet the 2021 WDC Interns!
Every spring and summer, we get to open up our office to interns from all over the world. These interns bring enthusiasm, passion, personal perspectives and hard work as they help us with many different aspects of whale conservation. Unfortunately in 2020, we weren’t able to have interns, but the year off gave us the…
Read MoreHumpback whales swim up river in Kakadu National Park
Wildlife experts in Australia’s Northern Territory are monitoring a humpback whale that has travelled 18 miles (30km) up the East Alligator river. It is the first time a whale has been recorded swimming so far up a river in Australia. Two other whales that were originally seen in the river have returned to the ocean.…
Read MoreScientists discover new humpback whale feeding technique
Humpback whales are renowned for the many different ways they catch their prey, such as lunge-feeding, kick-feeding, bubble-netting and many more. However, up-to-now scientists have been unable to work out how the whales might use their five-metre long pectoral flippers to help catch their food. Finally, using aerial observations and photographs, they have been able…
Read MoreThe Summer of Scylla
You know how every once in awhile, you meet someone and you just click? You become friends immediately and it seems like you have known them your entire life? Every once in awhile, this happens with a whale as well! I swear I’m not crazy, let me explain. From the year I did my internship…
Read MoreMomma whales, Monica, and mountains, oh my!
As the coordinator of WDC’s At the Helm of Conservation programs, I’m proud to say that our Whale SENSE program is turning 10 years old this year! I was chatting with our Whale SENSE partners in the NOAA offices both in Massachusetts and Alaska and we were brainstorming the best way to celebrate this huge…
Read MoreTwo white whales sighted off Australia and New Zealand
White whales are very rare, but in the last couple of days there have been sightings off both New Zealand and Australia. An adult white humpback whale, possibly the famous whale known as Migaloo, has been seen off the coast of Gisborne on New Zealand’s North Island. Meanwhile, off Lennox Head in New South Wales,…
Read MoreA lovely end to my sabbatical with more humpback whales
My time at the WDC North American office has come to an end; it has flown by and has been a wonderful experience. In my previous blog I wrote about the humpback studies that I have been assisting on whilst I have been here. Since then the weather has continued to be unseasonably good and…
Read MoreA Whale of a welcome
It’s been two weeks since I arrived at the WDC North America office here in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I’m normally based at the UK office, but I’m lucky to be here on sabbatical assisting on the studies of the whales in Cape Cod, particularly humpback whales. After being taught the data collection techniques, which is very…
Read MoreWhales whisper to avoid attack
Most whales are known for their loud underwater calls that can reach across many miles of ocean, but scientists have revealed that newborn humpback whales and their mothers frequently whisper to each other as part of a defence mechanism against attack. The study, by researchers from Denmark and Australia revealed unique, intimate forms of communication…
Read MoreFirst underwater images of humpback whales in UK waters taken in Shetlands
Humpback whales have been regularly sighted in the waters around the British Isles in recent years, from Cornwall to Northern Scotland, and many of these sightings have been recorded with photographs. But until now, it is thought there has never been any underwater footage taken of these creatures in UK waters. Now for the first…
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