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Orca Lulu's body contained PCB levels 100x above the safe limit. Image: SMASS

Toxic tides, troubled whales: the toll of chemical pollution

In last week's blog, we examined the challenges whales and dolphins face as they travel...
Group of orcas at surface

Breaking barriers for whales and dolphins at the Convention of Migratory Species

Many species of whales, dolphins and porpoises undertake long journeys, encountering human-made obstacles along the...
Tokyo

WDC in Japan – Part 1: Finding allies in Tokyo

At the end of May, I embarked on an incredible journey to Japan on behalf...
Amazon river dolphins leaping

The state of river dolphin conservation

At Whale and Dolphin Conservation, we partner with conservationists and communities fighting to save river...
Researchers in Southeast Alaska studying whale poo

We’re funding crucial research on whale poo to combat the climate crisis

The ocean is one of the lungs of our planet, and whales help it to...
Narwhal surfacing

The unicorns of the sea must be protected – CITES

The narwhal, is under threat. Often referred to as the unicorns of the sea, narwhals,...
Sperm whales

We’re pushing governments for action for our climate heroes – whales

The climate crisis is the greatest threat to all life on Earth. But there is...
Dolphins captured for captivity in Taiji. Image: Hans Peter Roth

Loved and killed – whales and dolphins in Japan

Protests and criticism from outside Japan in response to the slaughter of whales and dolphins...

Longest migration – gray or humpback whales?

The news has embraced gray whales as the new winner for the longest mammal migration title, a superlative long thought to belong humpback whales. However, does the recently-released research really give the edge to gray whales?   In the case of the gray whale, tagging data provided the distance calculation, however, migration distances are typically based on calculating the shortest possible path between two points as researchers know where an individual moved from and where they went to, but not necessarily the exact path they took.  While there is no denying the gray whale movements are impressive, a straight line calculation, rather than actual movements, calls the migration title into question.  Researchers from Allied Whale, who curate the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalog, matched photos of a humpback whale who migrated from the Russian Arctic to the Dominican Republic, a journey of comparable length to the gray whale, but in the Atlantic.  So the question remains as to whether gray or humpback whales hold the title as the Longest Migrating Mammal.  Perhaps it belongs to another species entirely.  As we continue to learn more about these amazing whales, we realize there is still so much to discover! 

 Migration paths of a gray and humpback whale

{But truth be told, we are hoping humpbacks remain the champs as we root for WDC’s humpback whale adoption star travelers, like Coral and Reflection.  Thanks to all our, past, current, and future whale adoptors who help to support WDC’s work, and share our vision of a world where every whale and dolphin is safe and free! Interested in adopting a whale for yourself or as a gift? Go to WDC’s adoption page and thank you for your support!}