whale

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Dead Whale Yields Golf Ball, Other Junk

But experts mystified as to what killed young gray whale in Puget Sound

(Newser) - A gray whale found dead in Washington state's Puget Sound had been scarfing down shrimp—and also a golf ball, woody debris, algae, pieces of rope and plastic, and some sort of flat spongy material. The garbage was minimal and not the cause of death, which remains under investigation,...

Whale Graveyard Puzzles Experts

Paleontologists ponder: Why are the fossils found together?

(Newser) - A newly discovered graveyard of ancient whales in Chile has scientists wondering how on Earth the bus-sized mammals all ended up dying in the same place. "That's the top question," says the director of a nearby museum. Their current location—the middle of a highway under construction...

Whale Does 'Thank-You Dance' After Rescue

Humpback seems to show its appreciation for freedom

(Newser) - This will bring a smile to whale fans: A humpback freed from fishing nets performed what one rescuer could only describe as a "thank-you dance." Again and again and again. A group from the Great Whale Conservancy freed the whale off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Afterward,...

Whale Won't Leave Calif. River

Killer whale noises fail to frighten mama back to sea

(Newser) - A gray whale wandered up the Klamath River in northern California almost a month ago and isn't being swayed by increasingly strong hints that it's time to go. The 40-ton whale arrived with its calf in late June. Though the calf weaned itself from the mother and returned...

Rare Right Whales Flock to Cape Cod

Plankton is especially plentiful this year

(Newser) - There are only 473 North Atlantic right whales on the planet, but almost half of them have been spotted gorging themselves on an unusual feast off the coast of Cape Cod this year. "The current must be piling the plankton up," a scientist with the Center for Coastal...

New Zealand Euthanizes 48 Beached Whales

Conditions had left little hope for the creatures

(Newser) - Faced with a pod of 107 beached pilot whales, half of them dead, and no help in sight, New Zealand conservation authorities were forced to euthanize 48 of the creatures, reports the New Zealand Herald. The whales had beached themselves high up on the beach yesterday with the tide on...

New Zealand Battles to Save 80 Beached Whales

Tourists help keep animals cool

(Newser) - More than a hundred rescuers in New Zealand are struggling to save some 80 beached pilot whales. They beached themselves today on the country’s South Island, and while rescuers managed to turn four back to sea, 10, including one baby, have died, reports the New Zealand Herald . With tides...

Whales Face 'Serious' Sunburn Threat
 Whales Face 'Serious' 
 Sunburn Threat 
study says

Whales Face 'Serious' Sunburn Threat

Depleted ozone may be risk for already-endangered animals

(Newser) - Whales off the coast of Mexico seem to be getting bad sunburns, and scientists say ozone damage may be why. To survive, whales have to spend long periods on the ocean’s surface, and without clothes, fur, or feathers, they’re basically “sunbathing naked,” the AP notes. The...

Men Mutilate Beached Whale —for a Tasty Snack

It was dead, and they were hungry; it's still illegal

(Newser) - Two Florida men are in trouble after they spotted a dead whale on the beach and approached it with one thought in mind: Hey, free lunch. "The thing was deader than a doornail," said one of the men picked up for questioning by state conservation officers. He told...

Putin Shoots Whale With Crossbow

'Action man' PM joins scientific expedition

(Newser) - In his latest effort to remind his countrymen of his machismo, Russian leader Vladimir Putin yesterday shot a gray whale with a dart from a crossbow. The prime minister, on a rubber boat in choppy seas, hit the gray whale on his fourth attempt to collect a skin sample, the...

Cruise Ship Impales Whale
 Cruise Ship Impales Whale 

Cruise Ship Impales Whale

Humpback whale's death being investigated

(Newser) - The Sapphire Princess has found a dead whale stuck to its bow for the second time in just over a year. The Coast Guard says the whale appears to be a juvenile humpback, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The cruise ship was delayed near Juneau for three hours while the...

Whale Crashes Into Yacht, but All Ends Well

Neither the boaters nor the whale came out injured

(Newser) - A couple from South Africa was out for a relaxing Sunday sail when they got much more than they bargained for—in the form of a 40-ton whale. They were admiring the whale flipping its tail around the boat when it briefly disappeared. The woman's boyfriend then told her to...

Scientists Find Fossil of 'Sea Monster'

Ancient 56-foot whale had huge teeth, carnivorous appetite

(Newser) - Scientists have found a fossil of a giant whale of lore—a "Leviathan" as the researchers named it. The creature was similar in size to today's sperm whale but nowhere near as passive, with massive teeth and jaws, the BBC reports. The 12-million-year-old, 56-foot-long beast likely hunted other sea...

Japan Bribes Reps on Whaling Commission
 Japan Bribes 
 Reps on Whaling 
 Commission 
INVESTIGATION

Japan Bribes Reps on Whaling Commission

London 'Times' says it has video of officials who sold votes

(Newser) - Japan is marching toward a repeal of the 24-year-old ban on commercial whaling, momentum it's built largely by greasing the palms of the International Whaling Commission, reports the Times of London in an exclusive investigation. Japan denies impropriety, but the Times says it's got video of officials admitting Japan pays...

'Extinct' Whale Surfaces Again

Lost gray whale spotted off Spanish coast

(Newser) - Gray whales became extinct in the Atlantic centuries ago, so experts believe the one that was spotted off Spain's Mediterranean coast recently is either incredible evidence of a recolonization, or incredibly lost. The whale is likely the same one seen off the coast of Israel last month, but experts have...

New, Giant Oil Plume Found in Gulf

Scientists believe cleanup chemicals to blame

(Newser) - Just when the Gulf of Mexico thought the hurting had stopped, marine scientists have discovered a huge new undersea oil cloud drifting toward Alabama. Hydrocarbon readings confirm that the plume, which starts near the blown-out well and is 6 miles wide and 22 miles long, is not naturally occurring. It's...

Garbage in stomach of whale found in Seattle
Forget Jonah: This Whale Ate Sweatpants, Surgical Gloves
in case you missed

Forget Jonah: This Whale Ate Sweatpants, Surgical Gloves

Beached whale's stomach was full of garbage

(Newser) - Like that episode of Seinfeld come to life, biologists found a golf ball in the stomach of a gray whale that died after getting stranded on a West Seattle beach on Wednesday—but it gets sadder from there, reports the AP . Though the scientists say most of the whale's stomach...

Canoeist: Whale Drowned My Pal
Canoeist: Whale
Drowned My Pal

Canoeist: Whale Drowned My Pal

Breaching beast toppled boat, says survivor

(Newser) - A breaching whale flipped a canoe off the Massachusetts coast, drowning one of the two paddlers, the surviving boater told police. The men were surprised by a pod of whales that appeared next to them in Provincetown Harbor when one of the great beasts breached. Whales' leap from the water...

Dogs, Whales Display Special Connection

Video, anecdotes support notion of interspecies bond

(Newser) - Do dogs and whales share a mysterious special bond? Yes, according to Discovery News writer Jennifer Viegas. For proof, she offers the YouTube clip above and some anecdotal evidence from Carrie Newell, who runs Whale Research EcoExcursions. Newell often brings her dog on her whale watching expeditions, and she reports...

Commission Mulls Lifting Whaling Ban

Whales have been saved, IWC policymakers argue

(Newser) - Whale populations have rebounded so strongly since the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling that the International Whaling Commission is considering loosening it. The IWC is mulling a compromise proposal that would condone whaling by ban-defying nations Norway, Iceland, and Japan in return for a reduction in the number of...

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