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Southern Resident whales

Ambitious plan to free captive orca Lolita announced

The new owner of the Miami Seaquarium in the US has announced that it is...
Gray whale

UN adopts High Seas Treaty to protect the ocean

At the UN 'High Seas Treaty' negotiations in New York, a historic vote for the...

Hopes raised for whale and dolphin protection after last minute landmark nature agreement

WDC's Ed Goodall (far right) at COP15 with Thérèse Coffey (centre) UK Secretary of State...

WDC orca champion picks up award

Beatrice Whishart MSP picks up her Nature Champion award The Scottish Environment LINK, an organisation...

The world’s rarest species of whale has been seen and photographed.  

140 years after it was first identified from a jaw bone, two spade-toothed beaked whales were found stranded on a beach in New Zealand in December 2010. But, the whales, which can grow to more than 5 metres (16 feet) long, were initially mistaken for Gray’s beaked whales and buried.

DNA samples were taken from the mother and calf which later revealed their true identity and the remains were dug up. It is thought to be the first time this species has ever been seen as a complete specimen.

Little is known about this species and it is not clear why the whales swam on to the beach.