Posts Tagged ‘Sperm whale’
Teeth stolen from dead sperm whales
Valuable teeth have been stolen from some of the carcasses of the seven beached sperm whales that died earlier in the week on Parara beach, Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. South Australian authorities have issued warnings that action will be taken against members of the public if they go near the dead whales. Regulations state…
Read MoreAmazing sperm whales in the Azores
Sperm whales are among the many deep water species that I have been lucky enough to have seen in the last week (including Northern bottlenose whales, Sowerby’s beaked whales, pilot whales, Risso’s dolphins…) off Pico in the Azores. Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, one of the deepest diving and perhaps the…
Read MoreWhy are we trashing our oceans?
Today is World Environment Day – a day to appreciate all that is magical about the natural world that surrounds us but also a day for us all to take a long, hard look at the effects our lifestyles are having on the planet. One of the major growing threats, to both humans and wildlife,…
Read MoreReport highlights the devastation of mass whale slaughter
New research shows that sperm whales have still not recovered more than 35 years after the last whale was killed in the Southern Ocean. Work undertaken by Macquarie University indicates that there is no evidence of any growth in the population of male sperm whales off Western Australia, showing just how devastating the impact of…
Read MoreWhat does deep sea mining mean for whales and dolphins?
When I was a student studying for my geology undergraduate degree, apart from debates about what killed off the dinosaurs, the other most exciting, almost futuristic idea, was the prospect of deep-sea mining. In those days it was consideration of harvesting manganese modules, today it’s the hunt for a multitude of rare earth minerals, including…
Read MoreA sperm whale stranded on my doorstep
When I stepped out of my van and saw the whale that had stranded early on Saturday on Edinburgh’s shore, just 10 minutes from my flat, it took me a minute to compose myself. Although led on his side, belly facing the beach, mostly submerged by the rising tide, there was no doubt this was…
Read MoreDead sperm whale found on Edinburgh coastline
A sperm whale measuring around 10-12 metres in length has washed up near a beach close to the Rockville hotel in Joppa, Edinburgh, at around 7.30am today (Saturday). WDC attended the scene together with Police Scotland, the Scottish SPCA, and BDMLR. Sperm whales are more at home in deep oceanic waters of the Atlantic, and…
Read MoreThe Power of One: Hope for Haiti
Our involvement with Haiti started from a vision inspired by Ms. Jamie Aquino, an educator in Florida who, motivated by both the Haitian community and marine environment that surrounds her, collaborated with WDC to develop an outreach program to connect her students with youth in Haiti. With a focus on supporting local communities within…
Read MoreUS agreement offers hope for whales and dolphins in Gulf of Mexico
WDC is delighted by a landmark US legal decision to exclude underwater surveys for oil and gas from some important whale and dolphin habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. The long-awaited settlement agreement followed legal challenges to the seismic surveys, which emit loud pulses of noise sent down to the seabed to locate oil and…
Read MoreMaking Noise About Making Less Noise
Yesterday (6/20/13) the Natural Resources Defense Council (“NRDC”), Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”), and the Gulf Restoration Network (“GRN”) reached a landmark legal settlement that will pave the way for a quieter Gulf of Mexico. Acoustic harassment from deafening air-guns is a serious problem for vulnerable marine mammal populations in the Gulf. Producing…
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