Whales and other cetaceans

Ghastly photo taken on 27 June 2018 of blood pouring from a harpoon wound that killed a Fin whale in Iceland. So far 7 Fin whales have been killed out of the quota of 239. Fin whales are an endangered species & Iceland exports the meat to Japan where it often ends up in pet food. pic.twitter.com/9fVmRLkscZ — Quad Finn (@Quad_Finn) June 29, 2018

Heartbreaking news with an autospy revealing that a pregnant Pygmy Sperm Whale found at a Melbourne beach had ingested so much plastic that its stomach outflow was blocked. The whale could not be saved: https://t.co/9f1wZCW2HT #WorldOceansDay pic.twitter.com/JwabUFz3qa — Jenny Gray (@drjennygray) June 7, 2018

Facts about Indonesia's whale hunting tradition - Art & Culture - The Jakarta Post : Lembata regency in East Nusa Tenggara is known for its whale hunting tradition that has been passed down from one generation to another. ... The Lembata waters are part of the pod’s migration routes, which usually occurs from May to October. During that period, people in Lembata begin the rituals by reading nature’s signs about when the whales will come. The locals, who are mostly Catholics, also hold Mass in the beginning of the hunt. “It starts with a ceremony from April 29 to May 1 as the beginning of the procession,” said Apolonaris. Locals will hunt the whales using traditional boats that hold 10 to 20 people and are equipped with harpoons. When a whale comes close, some of the participants will jump into the water and use the harpoon. They do not use nets. “They don’t hunt whales every day,” Apolonaris told  kompas.com , adding that the hunting begins when the locals spot the whale’s s...

Beluga whales visiting Alaskan river earlier, in greater numbers: researcher | CBC News : "Cook Inlet beluga whales are swimming up the Kenai River earlier in the year and in greater numbers than previously estimated, according to new monitoring of the endangered species. Kim Ovitz, a fellow in the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Sea Grant program, began recording beluga activity in mid-March from six sites between the Kenai beach and Cunningham Park at river Mile 6.5, the Peninsula Clarion reported. Ovitz counted 367 whales in 66 days of observation, including 43 calves. "The belugas we're observing spend a considerable amount of time in the Kenai River," Ovitz said. "When I came down here I thought they'd mill in the mouth of the river and then leave, and that's definitely not the case." " 'via Blog this'

Huge Blue Whale Sighted in the Red Sea for the First Time | Smart News | Smithsonian : "On Tuesday morning, a fisherman off the coast of Eilat, Israel spotted something unexpected: a huge whale swimming along in the Red Sea. Experts were even more surprised to discover that the creature was a blue whale—marking the first time that the world’s largest mammal has been seen in the Red Sea, as Zafrir Rinat and Almog Ben Zikri report for Haaretz.  Two days after it popped up in Israeli waters, Egypt’s environment ministry announced that the animal had also been sighted in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba, according to Aham Online. The ministry revealed that the whale measures 24 meters (nearly 80 feet) long, and belongs to a subspecies known as the pygmy blue whale. Monitoring teams in the South Sinai and the Red Sea have been deployed to track the whale’s movements." 'via Blog this'

Whale dies from eating more than 80 plastic bags | Environment | The Guardian : "A whale has died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, with rescuers failing to nurse the mammal back to health.  The small male pilot whale was found barely alive in a canal near the border with Malaysia, the country’s department of marine and coastal resources said.  A veterinary team tried “to help stabilise its illness but finally the whale died” on Friday afternoon. An autopsy revealed 80 plastic bags weighing up to 8kg (18lb) in the creature’s stomach, the department added." 'via Blog this'