Whales and other cetaceans

Rescuers help an injured whale calf at Dadonghai scenic zone in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on Sat. The 3-meter-long whale calf has been moved to safety. pic.twitter.com/4kU6wcFckx — People's Daily,China (@PDChina) December 10, 2017

Stressed-Out Narwhals Don't Know Whether To Freeze Or Flee, Scientists Find : The Two-Way : NPR : "Narwhals — the unicorns of the sea — show a weird fear response after being entangled in nets. Scientists say this unusual reaction to human-induced stress might restrict blood flow to the brain and leave the whales addled. The narwhals swim hard and dive deep to escape after being released from a net, but at the same time their heart rates dramatically plummet, according to a newly published report in Science. It's almost like they are simultaneously trying to freeze and flee. "This is an unusual reaction to an unusual kind of threat," says Terrie Williams, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "I don't believe that this is the normal response when the animals are being pursued by a killer whale."" 'via Blog this'

Kate Sprogis , Murdoch University and David Hocking , Monash University For wild predators, catching, killing and eating prey can sometimes be a risky business . We can see this on the African savannah, where a well-aimed kick from a zebra can spell trouble for a hungry lion. But the same can also be true in the ocean, where some prey types are far from helpless seafood. In particular, a large octopus can be a risky prey for predators to tackle. This is especially so for marine mammals, such as dolphins, which don’t have hands to help them keep control of this clingy, eight-armed prey. Our new research highlights the development of complex behaviours that allow dolphins to eat octopus, thereby improving their ability to survive and reproduce. It’s another example of a strategy that helps to drive the success of dolphins in coastal environments around Australia. Dangers of eating octopus In 2015 an adult male bottlenose dolphin was found dead on a beach in Bunbury, southw...

Experts: Fewer Than 30 Vaquita Porpoises Remain - Bloomberg : " International experts studying Mexico's endangered vaquita porpoise have determined that fewer than 30 remain in the upper Gulf of California, the only place they live. The experts and the Mexican government have drawn up plans to catch the few remaining vaquitas and enclose them in pens for protection and possible breeding. The World Wildlife Fund says that is not the answer. The fund said Monday that "the only way to save the vaquita from extinction is for the Mexican government to immediately and indefinitely ban all fisheries within its habitat."" 'via Blog this'

Dozens Of False Killer Whales Mysteriously Strand Themselves In Florida : The Two-Way : NPR : "Scientists are trying to determine why a group of at least 95 false killer whales stranded themselves on a remote coast in Florida's Everglades National Park. At least 82 of the animals have died, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "This is the largest mass stranding ever for this species in the United States," NOAA Marine Biologist Erin Fougères said, "And one of the largest mass strandings we've ever had in the southeast." The event was first reported on Saturday and rescue efforts to herd the animals to safety have seen "minimal success," she said in a Facebook Live video with the Weather Channel on Wednesday. The remote location, along Hog Key in the Everglades, is difficult for biologists to reach and dense with mangroves." 'via Blog this'