A recent article in the journal Oceanus, hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), raises the question, “Are offshore wind farms harming whales?” The short answer is “no.” They write: A collection of seemingly grass-roots organizations claim that offshore … Continue reading
Tag Archives: whales
An encouraging news story from Reuters. A smart buoy that can “hear” the ocean and monitor climate change is part of a new effort to help endangered whales avoid ship collisions on their journey from Antarctica to the equator. The … Continue reading
Earlier this year, we posted “The Incredible Journey of Belugas Little White and Little Grey,” about the 6,000-mile transport in June 2019 of the two whales by air, land, and sea from an aquarium in Shanghai to a new home … Continue reading
Two groups of fishermen had recent close encounters with humpback whales off the Jersey Shore. In early June, two men fishing in a 25′ boat not far offshore near Seaside Park, NJ were thrown from their boat when it was … Continue reading
Almost a year ago, two beluga whales, Little White and Little Grey, traveled 6,000 miles from an aquarium in Shanghai around the globe to Iceland to a new home in the world’s first beluga whale sanctuary. If all goes well, … Continue reading
To change the topic, for a day at least, here is a well done short video by the Nature Conservancy about the return of the lowly menhaden, which they call the most important fish in the sea. Menhaden are an … Continue reading
Six years ago, we posted about research that documented that when dogs defecate, they usually align their bodies along the magnetic north-south axis, not unlike the needle of a magnetic compass. It turns out that dogs are not unique in … Continue reading
The Trump administration has approved seismic testing related to oil and gas exploration off the US Atlantic coast. The testing could harm tens of thousands of dolphins, whales and other marine animals. The testing uses blasts from high-powered airguns to map the … Continue reading
The Trump administration announced that it would cancel a rule designed to protect whales and turtles, which was first implemented in 2016, at the request of the fishing industry. The rule helped limit the number of endangered whales and turtles … Continue reading
Here is a fascinating short video that discusses “trophic cascades,” “poo-namis,” ocean mixing and how whales have a positive impact on climate change. Worth watching. How Whales Change Climate … Continue reading
Yesterday we posted about a whale swimming in New York’s East River. It was originally identified by the police as a humpback, but their photograph of the whale’s spout now makes it highly likely that the whales was in fact … Continue reading
After decades of absence, whales are returning to the waters around New York City. Competing whale watching cruises depart New York docks in the warmer months to see humpback, fin whales and dolphins, often within site of the city skyline. … Continue reading
In 2012, we posted about how U.S Navy low frequency sonar training and testing could kill or deafen thousands of whales and dolphins. Environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, filed a lawsuit in San Francisco arguing that actions violated … Continue reading
How do whales sleep? And do they dream? Many years ago on a kayaking trip on Blackfish Sound off Vancouver Island, our group of paddlers came across a pod of “sleeping” orcas. The pod was swimming very slowly, each orca swimming … Continue reading
A fascinating video of dolphins and whales creating and then playing with bubble rings — toroidal vortices, also known as vortex rings. (Also a bit of volcanoes blowing smoke rings.) Extraordinary Toroidal Vortices … Continue reading