By Katie Moore, Program Director-Animal Rescue 26 September 2013 (IFAW) – Four years ago I rushed to Madagascar to help stop over 100 melon-headed whales from stranding and dying along the islands’ shores. Like most cetacean species, melon-headed whales are very social animals. They rely on sound for communication and echolocation that are essential to […]
ABSTRACT: The effects of climate change on high latitude regions are becoming increasingly evident, particularly in the rapid decline of sea ice cover in the Arctic. Many high latitude species dependent on sea ice are being forced to adapt to changing habitats. Harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) are an indicator species for changing high-latitude ecosystems. This […]
By Rhitu Chatterjee16 September 2013 (NPR) – How often do whales clean their ears? Well, never. And so, year after year, their ear wax builds up, layer upon layer. According to a study published Monday, these columns of ear wax contain a record of chemical pollution in the oceans. The study, published in Proceedings of […]
By Frances Beinecke28 August 2013 (NRDC) – Earlier this summer, I walked along the spit of land where the Chukchi Sea meets the Beaufort Sea at the top of Alaska. As our group looked out at pack-ice sculpted by wind and water currents, our local guide told us about the Inupiat whaling crew captained by […]
[Keep in mind that Japan still poaches dolphins at Taiji and whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary; Iceland and Norway continue to poach whales in the Atlantic.] By Erwin Vermeulen 28 August 2013 (SSCS) – On 27 August 2013, around 2pm local time, another 51 Pilot whales were butchered in the Ferocious Isles. This time […]
By Alex Kirby24 August 2013 LONDON (Climate News Network) – They may not look very appetizing, but they are what sustains much of the marine life in the southern ocean. Antarctic krill, usually less than 2.36 inches long, are the primary food source for many species of whale, seal, penguin and fish. But there’s a […]
By Alexander Holmgren 20 August 2013 (mongabay.com) – As sea ice levels continue to decline in the northern hemisphere, scientists are observing an unsettling trend in harp seal young mortalities regardless of juvenile fitness. While a recent study found that in harp seal breeding regions ice cover decreased by up to 6% a decade from […]
14 August 2013 (WDC) – Latest figures (August 12th) from the Iceland Fisheries Directorate give a shameful total of 89 fin whales killed by Kristjan Loftsson’s fleet so far this season. Loftsson could slaughter as many as 184 fin whales under a self-allocated quota, but the rationale behind the hunt is looking increasingly shaky. There […]
13 August 2013 (SSCS) – Faroe Islands update: After not killing any cetaceans during the first 6 months of this year, the last 23 days have seen the Faroese massacre 1106 small cetaceans: 125 pilot whales killed on 21st July at Viðvík 267 pilot whales killed on 30th July at Fuglafjørður 107 pilot whales killed […]
By MICHAEL WINES 7 August 2013 MELBOURNE, Florida (The New York Times) – The first hint that something was amiss here, in the shallow lagoons and brackish streams that buffer inland Florida from the Atlantic’s salt water, came last summer in the Banana River, just south of Kennedy Space Center. Three manatees — the languid, […]
