Breaking news
Killer whales may be responsible for the disappearance of great white sharks in South Africa’s waters, according to a new government report. Great whites are a big draw in Cape Town, with visitors viewing them from tour boats or protective shark cages. But their numbers have been in steep decline since at least 2017. Experts … Read more
Whales, dolphins and seals are ‘highly susceptible’ to infection from COVID-19 which could cause life-threatening liver and lung damage in the endangered animals, experts warn Researchers looked at how at-risk various marine mammals are to coronavirus Found many may be more susceptible to infection than people are Warn that it is possible animals in oceans get … Read more
A campaign led by actress Joanna Lumley is calling for unexploded WWII bombs in the seas around British to be quietly ‘burnt out’, rather than violently detonated. It is estimated that some 100,000 tonnes of unexploded wartime munitions lurk in Britain’s waters — much of which needs clearing to make way for new wind farms. However, the traditional … Read more
The Ministry of Defence is being questioned over war games it conducted off the Scottish coast after several whales washed up dead suffering from the bends. Scientists who tracked the war games, the largest in Europe, recorded an alarming number of sonar contacts over several days. The noise was so loud that on occasions members … Read more
Fin whales can swap songs with other individuals migrating from all over the world in ‘cultural transmissions’ Researchers spent six years recording whale songs in waters around Hawaii Found fin whales are able to sing multiple songs and adopt tunes of others Migrating whales have their own songs picked up and used by others By … Read more
John Bishop’s Great Whale Rescue Rating: Who Do You Think You Are? Rating: They didn’t have all these problems with Free Willy. The Nineties movie about a boy who sets out to release a captive orca into the seas made rescuing whales look like child’s play. But the obstacles encountered by comedian John Bishop in … Read more
The attack of the Gladis’s: Scientists identify three main culprits – dubbed Black Gladis, Grey Gladis and White Gladis – behind spate of killer whales ramming yachts off of Spain and Portugal In last two months, orcas have attacked vessels of Spain and Portugal 22 times Rudders have been torn off and whales have rammed … Read more
Marine experts herded a pod of five Northern bottlenose whales out of a Scottish loch ahead of Europe’s largest military exercise this weekend – before they swam back in again. The mammals have been in the firth of the Clyde for some weeks – attracting much attention when they entered a Greenock harbour last month. … Read more
Incredible drone footage shows the moment a pair of Bryde’s whales caught waves with surfers near Byron Bay Sydney man Daniel Cook filmed two Bryde’s whales catching waves with surfers The drone footage showed surfers moving out of the way for the giant mammals Whales and dolphins used the waves to propel themselves into a … Read more
Blue whales – the largest animal on Earth – sing at different times of the day depending on the season, a new study says. US experts recorded both individual whales and their greater populations in the Northeast Pacific, using tagging and underwater microphones called ‘hydrophones’. During feeding season in the summer when feasting on krill, blue whales … Read more