Whale

Scientists at Stanford University have found that the humpback whale, which weighs in at about 30 tonnes, uses stealth and deception to get within lunging distance of the schools of anchovies and other fish on which it feeds.

The ancestors of today's whales originally walked on four legs. New research suggests that previously-discovered fossils represent a point at which the creatures were moving from swimming with those legs to swimming with their tails.

A team of Stanford University scientists have captured the first ever recording of a blue whale’s heart rate, and in doing so, have gathered some interesting insights into the massive mammal's behavior and evolution.

As far as fighting climate change is concerned, "one whale is worth thousands of trees," the IMF has said. But reports suggesting that trees therefore pale into insignificance compared to whales are missing the point.

Scientists have used a drone to calculate the weight of live whales as they're swimming.

You might think we'd have discovered of all the big animals by now, but Japanese scientists have found a previously-unknown whale species.

​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.

​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.

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.

​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.

​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.

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.