Posts by Julia Pix
Covid and conservation – how we protected whales and dolphins together in 2020
© V. Mignon As we begin a new year, our chair of trustees, Lisa Drewe, wanted to share with you her reflections on 2020 and her hopes for 2021. We’re working through tough times together, but we are still filled with awe for whales and dolphins as well as hope and positivity for what we…
Read MoreSave the whales, save the world – convincing governments that whales will help us fight the climate crisis
Whales and dolphins are awesome. They are intelligent, self-aware, socially complex and they need and deserve our protection. But, did you know they are also our allies in fighting the climate crisis? As we begin a new year with hope and optimism, we’re thinking big like a whale and setting our ambitions high. Help save…
Read MoreBelugas take little steps to new life in sanctuary home
Our project with the SEA LIFE Trust to move two beluga whales, Little White and Little Grey, from captivity in China to the world’s first whale sanctuary in Iceland has taken some significant steps forward. We’re calling this phase ‘Little Steps’, because that’s what we and the whales are taking. The whales made good progress…
Read MoreWhat was it like to be in the rescue team at the Tasmania pilot whale stranding?
Dr Maddie Brasier is a marine biologist at the University of Tasmania and member of the Wildcare Tasmania Whale Rescue Volunteer First Response Team having been trained in whale rescue by Parks and Wildlife Tasmania. She’s also a WDC supporter and has been selling her beautiful knitted whale hats on etsy to raise money for…
Read MoreWhy do female orcas live so long after they stop having babies?
Orcas are one of only five species known to experience menopause and females can live for many decades after their last calf. The only other mammals reported to exhibit this unusual life history strategy are short-finned pilot whales, belugas, narwhals and humans. The question of why females of any species should stop reproduction before the…
Read MoreRastus – the tale of an extraordinary dog and his love of dolphins
Dr Nicolette Scourse is an academic, educator, author and illustrator with a passion for whales, dolphins and the ocean. In her guest blog she tells the story of Rastus, an extraordinary dog with a love of dolphins. Over to Nicolette… I was looking down from the jetty into limpid clean shallows of blue. Suddenly I…
Read MoreHow we’re helping to keep orcas safe from capture in Russia
In 1999, we helped open up whale research in Russia, building a photo-ID catalogue of orcas as well as a Russian team to study them. We called this the Far East Russia Orca Project, or FEROP, and it’s still going strong today. FEROP has trained a generation of young students in photo-ID, acoustic recording and…
Read MoreCutting it with citizen science – following a whale from the Caribbean to the Arctic via Scotland
Steve Truluck is a whale watching guide and skipper for Hebridean Whale Cruises, Gairloch, Scotland. He began his journey into the wonderful world of whales and dolphins as a volunteer for WDC Shorewatch, our citizen science programme in Scotland. He is a regular visitor to Norway and contributor to scientific research. In his guest blog…
Read MoreUS aquarium wants to import belugas from Canada
Mystic Aquarium, in the US state of Connecticut, has applied to import five young beluga whales from Marineland in Canada for research, claiming they cannot study the whales without moving them. Canada banned whale and dolphin captivity earlier this year but we’re facing a battle to make sure this law is upheld. Two attractions in Canada…
Read MoreBringing home the misery of orca captivity
Emma Stallworthy and Caroline Willis spent much of 2019 as residential volunteers at our Scottish Dolphin Centre. Part of their role was to run the centre’s events programme and in this guest blog, they explain how they came up with an event to help visitors understand the cruel confinement of captivity. Volunteering at Whale and…
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