Dolphins and Whales News

November 21, 2024

Top Headlines

Fewer Than 7% of Global Hotspots for Whale-Ship Collisions Have Protection Measures in Place

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study has quantified the risk for whale-ship collisions worldwide for four geographically widespread ocean giants that are threatened by shipping: blue, fin, humpback and sperm whales. ...

One or Many? Exploring the Population Groups of the Largest Animal on Earth

Nov. 15, 2024 — Hunted nearly to extinction during 20th century whaling, the Antarctic blue whale, the world's largest animal, went from a population size of roughly 200,000 to little more than 300. The most recent estimate in 2004 put Antarctic blue whales at less ...

Sinuses Prevented Prehistoric Crocodile Relatives from Deep Diving

Oct. 29, 2024 — Paleobiologists have found that the sinuses of ocean dwelling relatives of modern-day crocodiles prevented them from evolving into deep divers like whales and ...

New Methods for Whale Tracking and Rendezvous Using Autonomous Robots

Oct. 31, 2024 — Today, a research team has proposed a new reinforcement learning framework with autonomous drones to find sperm whales and predict where they will ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:17pm EST

Dolphins Sense Military Sonar at Much Lower Levels Than Regulators Predict

Oct. 23, 2024 — Scientists have directly measured the behavioral responses of some of the most common marine mammals to military sonar. And the finding that surprised them most was that these animals were sensitive ...

Plastic Pollution Sounds Just Like Food to Deep-Diving Whales

Oct. 17, 2024 — To whales that hunt with soundwaves in lightless ocean depths, a torn plastic party balloon and a delicious squid may appear remarkably similar, according to a study. Underwater acoustic testing with ...

Microplastics Detected in Dolphin Breath

Oct. 17, 2024 — U.S. researchers have detected microplastic particles in air exhaled by wild bottlenose dolphins, suggesting that inhalation may be a relevant route of exposure to these potentially harmful ...

Whale Shark Shipping Collisions May Increase as Oceans Warm

Oct. 7, 2024 — Global warming could increase the threat posed to whale sharks from large ships, according to a new ...

Bottlenose Dolphins 'Smile' at Each Other While Playing

Oct. 2, 2024 — Dolphins are extremely playful, but little is known about how they -- and other marine mammals -- communicate during playtime. New research shows that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncates) use the ...

Drone Footage Provides New Insight Into Gray Whales' Acrobatic Feeding Behavior

Sep. 25, 2024 — Drone footage is offering new insight into the acrobatics undertaken by gray whales foraging in the waters off the coast of ...

What's for Dinner? Scientists Unearth Key Clues to Cuisine of Resident Killer Whales

Sep. 19, 2024 — Scientists have discovered the cuisine preferences of two resident killer whale populations, also known as orcas: the Alaska residents and the ...

How Baleen Whales Have Adapted Over the Past 50 Million Years

Aug. 22, 2024 — The largest dataset of cetacean genes ever collated has helped scientists deep dive 'into the blue' to fathom the 'triumph' of baleen whale evolution. The new study explores the key genetic ...

Humpbacks Are Among Animals Who Manufacture and Wield Tools

Aug. 20, 2024 — Researchers suggest a new designation of the humpback whales they study: tool wielders. Researchers have known that humpback whales create "bubble-nets" to hunt, but they have learned that the ...

Impact of 700 Years of Inuvialuit Subsistence Hunting on Beluga Whales

Aug. 14, 2024 — An international team of researchers analyzed beluga whale bones retrieved from archaeological sites in the Mackenzie Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, to shed light on the sustainability of ...

Long-Distance Relationship Revealed in the Seemingly Random Behavior of Bowhead Whales

Aug. 11, 2024 — Applying chaos theory to the movement of iconic arctic whales uncovered a 24-hour diving cycle and a long-range (~100 km) ...

Scientists Using New Sound Tech to Save Animals from Extinction

July 30, 2024 — Scientists are using new technology to help endangered animals by listening to their ...

Researchers Record Images and Data of a Shark Experiencing a Boat Strike

July 24, 2024 — Researchers have captured what they believe is the first ever video of a shark or any large marine animal being struck by a ...

Whale Shark Tracked for Record-Breaking Four Years

July 24, 2024 — Researchers have been tracking a 26-foot endangered whale shark -- named 'Rio Lady' -- with a satellite transmitter for more than four years -- a record for whale sharks and one of the ...

Whale Remains Tracked to Highlight Sustainable Disposal Benefits

July 10, 2024 — A new study highlights the sustainable, cultural and ecosystem benefits of offshore removal or decomposition of whale remains. The study tracked the remains of a humpback whale that was intercepted ...

Dolphins With Elevated Mercury Levels in Florida and Georgia

June 13, 2024 — Scientists found elevated mercury levels in dolphins in the U.S. Southeast. The highest levels were found in dolphins in Florida's St. Joseph and Choctawhatchee Bays. Researchers study dolphins ...

Pacific Coast Gray Whales Have Gotten 13% Shorter in the Past 20-30 Years, Oregon State Study Finds

June 12, 2024 — Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new study ...

Flapping Frequency of Birds, Insects, Bats and Whales Described by Universal Equation

June 5, 2024 — A single universal equation can closely approximate the frequency of wingbeats and fin strokes made by birds, insects, bats and whales, despite their different body sizes and wing shapes, researchers ...

Future Climate Impacts Put Whale Diet at Risk

May 22, 2024 — A new study predicts future climate change impacts could disrupt the krill-heavy diet that humpback whales in the southern hemisphere ...

A Rise in Sea Urchins and Related Damage to Kelp Forests Impacts Oregon's Gray Whales and Their Food

May 21, 2024 — A recent boom in the purple sea urchin population off the southern Oregon Coast appears to have had an indirect and negative impact on the gray whales that usually forage in the region, a new study ...

How Neighboring Whale Families Learn Each Other's Vocal Style

May 16, 2024 — Researchers have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each ...

Killer Whales Breathe Just Once Between Dives, Study Confirms

May 15, 2024 — A new study has confirmed a long-held assumption: that orcas take just one breath between dives. The researchers used drone footage and biological data from tags suction-cupped to 11 northern and ...

Young Whale's Journey Highlights Threats Facing Ocean Animals

May 14, 2024 — A young whale's journey across the Mediterranean highlights the many threats facing ocean animals, researchers ...

Where Have All the Right Whales Gone?

Apr. 12, 2024 — Marine researchers have mapped the density of one of the most endangered large whale species worldwide, the North Atlantic right whale, using new data to help avoid right whales' harmful ...

Toothed Whale Echolocation Organs Evolved from Jaw Muscles

Apr. 8, 2024 — Genetic analysis finds evidence suggesting that acoustic fat bodies in the heads of toothed whales were once the muscles and bone marrow of the ...

Caller ID of the Sea: Tagging Whale Communication and Behavior

Mar. 25, 2024 — Biologists use a novel method of simultaneous acoustic tagging to gain insights into the link between whale communication and ...

Entanglements of Humpback Whales in Fish Farms Rare -- And Naivety Could Be to Blame

Mar. 21, 2024 — The first study of humpback whale entanglements in B.C. aquaculture facilities found eight over 13 years, with the curiosity of young whales a potential contributing ...

Scientists Weigh Up Current Status of Blue Whale Populations Around the World

Mar. 20, 2024 — The largest living animal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) which averages about 27 meters in length, has slowly recovered from whaling only to face the rising challenges of global warming, ...

Killer Whales Use Specialized Hunting Techniques to Catch Marine Mammals in the Open Ocean

Mar. 20, 2024 — Killer whales foraging in deep submarine canyons off the coast of California represent a distinct subpopulation that uses specialized hunting techniques to catch marine mammals, researchers ...

Ancient Giant Dolphin Discovered in the Amazon

Mar. 20, 2024 — Measuring between 3 to 3.5 meters, 16 million years old: Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new species of freshwater dolphin in the Peruvian Amazon region. Surprisingly, its closest ...