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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...

Large number of dolphins moved to Abu Dhabi marine park

Up to 24 captive bottlenose dolphins have reportedly been sent to a new SeaWorld theme...

Orcas hunting bowhead whale captured on film for first time

Footage showing orcas hunting a young bowhead whale has recently been released, believed to be the first time such an attack has been recorded on film according to researcher Dr Olga Shpak.

The incident was filmed last summer in the Okhotsk Sea off the east coast of Russia during the summer field season. Bowhead whales are only found in polar waters in the northern hemisphere and have evolved to cope with living within the thick pack ice. They are capable of living in excess of 200 years.

This attack took place in an area off the Russian coastline where orcas are targeted by the captivity industry. Very little is still known about orcas in Russian waters with vital research being carried out by the Far East Russian Orca Project (FEROP).

Commenting on the footage, WDC Research Fellow and FEROP Director, Erich Hoyt explained, “This extraordinary video shows a juvenile bowhead being corralled and killed by orcas in summer 2016, although it has only been made public recently. It happened in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea in an area where up to 20 marine-mammal eating orcas have been captured for Chinese and Russian marine zoos and aquariums over the last few years.”

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