Whale

Environment Audio available

Intelligent infrared cameras may help keep boats from striking killer whales

Ben Coxworth June 27, 2019

​There are currently fewer than 80 Southern Resident Killer Whales left in North America's Pacific Northwest, and unfortunately boat collisions with them are on the rise. In order to address the problem, scientists are now looking to artificially-intelligent infrared cameras.

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Biology

Weird whale skull confirmed to be from only known narwhal/beluga hybrid

Ben Coxworth June 21, 2019

​Narwhals and belugas are the only two toothed whales native to the Arctic, and they're often seen in one another's company. You've therefore gotta wonder – could they interbreed? Danish scientists now say the answer is yes, and they've got a hybrid "Narluga" skull to prove it.

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Science Audio available

Amphibious, four-legged whale fossil might be a missing link

Michael Irving April 4, 2019

Whales weren’t always the giants of the sea that we know today – their ancestors plodded around on land before taking to a more aquatic lifestyle. Now a team of palaeontologists has uncovered the fossil bones of a strange new “missing link” whale species, which had four legs and was amphibious.

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Biology Audio available

Study suggests that giant prehistoric whale ate other whales

Ben Coxworth January 10, 2019

​The 8-m (26-ft) killer whale is the ocean's top predator – it even goes after other whales. With that in mind, just imagine what fun a 15-meter (49-ft) predatory whale would be. That's the length of Basilosaurus isis, a prehistoric whale that is now believed to have also fed on its fellow whales.

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Biology

Study suggests prehistoric whales may have sucked at feeding

Ben Coxworth November 30, 2018

​In the distant past, all whales had teeth. Now, some feed using baleen instead. A new analysis of previously-discovered fossils has provided a fresh insight into the evolution of that baleen, suggesting that for a while, some whales simply sucked down their food.

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Digital Cameras

Beautiful black and white photography delivers stunning undersea perspectives

Rich Haridy July 7, 2018

Anuar Patjane Floriuk’s extraordinary black and white underwater photographs have been winning awards and stunning people around the globe for several years now. His painterly monochrome compositions present an undersea universe from a perspective that evokes a thrilling sense of wonder.

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Environment

Whale made from plastic waste leaps out of canal

Rich Haridy June 27, 2018

A massive whale, constructed out of five tons of reclaimed plastic waste, is currently leaping out of a canal in Belgium. Developed by architecture and design firm STUDIOKCA, the impressive sculpture is designed to bring attention to the immense volumes of plastic waste swimming in our oceans.

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Drones

DJI drones help free whales from ocean debris

Paul Ridden May 31, 2018

​It's not just domestic plastic waste that's threatening marine life across the globe, discarded fishing gear and marine debris can be just as deadly. DJI has joined forces with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Oceans Unmanned to explore safer whale rescue – using drones.​

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Biology

World-first whale cam reveals secrets of the mysterious minke

Nick Lavars February 19, 2018

For the first time ever, scientists have managed to slap a camera onto the back of a minke whale as it swam through the icy waters of Antarctica, surprising researchers with its speed and a seemingly voracious appetite.

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Biology

Right-handed blue whales go left to keep an eye on the prize

Ben Coxworth November 21, 2017

​Even though blue whales don't have hands, or even feet, a new study has shown that most of them are in fact right-handed. This can be seen in the way that they feed. Interestingly, however, there's one particular situation in which they tend to go left instead.

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