Dolphin & Whale News

July 2019

• Nova Scotia Whale-Watching Boat Captain, Mate Free Humpback from Fishing Gear Entanglement — See Video (CBC, YouTube, 7/24/19).

• Beachgoers Help Turn Stranding Pilot Whales Back to Sea in St. Simon’s GA — See News Report (CBS 7/17/19). Read more, see more photos here and here.

• Surfer & Friends Film Dolphin Stampede Off S. California Coast — See Video (USA Today, 7/16/19). See the video again here.

• Researchers Study How Orca Duo Surgically Strip Great Whites of Their Livers in South Africa — See Photos & Video (National Geographic, 7/16/19).

• Study: Southern Right Moms May Hide Soft Calls under Sounds of Crashing Waves to Protect Calves from Orca Predation —See Photo, Listen to Calls (ScienceNews, 7/11/19). Read more, see more photos here.

• New Resident Orca JPod Baby is a Girl — See Photos (Center for Whale Research, 7/6/19). Read more, see more photos here and here.

• 3 Rights Spotted Tangled in Fishing Gear in Gulf of St. Lawrence — See Photos (CTV News Atlantic, 7/5/19).

• Resident Orcas Return to B.C. Better Late than Never — See Photos (The Star, 7/5/19).

• Japan Drops “Scientific Research” Act, Openly Resumes Commercial Whaling — See Photo (The New York Times, 7/1/19). Read more, see more photos here.

June 2019

• Young Right Whale Dies in Gulf of St. Lawrence as Canada, U.S. Fail to Take Necessary Steps to Save Critically Endangered Species — See Photos (Boston Globe, 6/15/19).

• NOAA: More than 260 Dead Dolphins along Northern Gulf of Mexico is Cause for Concern — See Photo, Chart & Map (Gizmodo, 6/14/19). Read more, see more photos and video here, here and here.

• Study: Male Bottlenose “Spongers” of Australia’s Shark Bay Hang Together — See Photo (EurekAlert, 6/11/19).

• A Beloved Female Humpback Washes Up Dead in Cape Cod, Researchers Struggle to Determine What Killed Her — See Graphic Photos (BU.edu, 6/11/19).

• Researchers Finally Confirm At Least Some Humpbacks that Feed Off Ireland Breed Off Cape Verde Islands — See Photos (thejournal.ie, 6/4/19).

• Large Pod of Deep-Diving, Rarely Seen Baird’s Beaked Whales Spotted Swimming at Surface in Monterey Bay — See Video (Newsweek, 6/3/19)

• Report: What Is Whale/Dolphin Intelligence and How Do We Measure It? See Photos  (Independent, 6/3/19).

• DNA Study: 2 Varities of Short-Finned Pilot Whales are 2 Different Species Separated by Vast Pacific — See Photos & Illo (WHOI.edu, 6/3/19).

• Cleaner Waters Drawing More Whales to NYC — See Photos (The Guardian, 6/3/19).

May 2019

New orca calf born to J Pod, Tofino B.C., May 30, 2019 / John Forde, Jennifer Steven, Tofino Whale Centre, The Seattle Times / Click for more.

• 2nd Orca Calf Born to Southern Resident Population’s  J Pod  — See Photos (The Seattle Times, 5/31/19). Read more, see another photo here.

• Expert Says 12 Dead Dolphins along Delaware Coast in 2 Months No Real Cause for Concern — See Photos (delmarvanow.com, 5/29/19).

• Argument: Ropeless Fishing Tech Could Save Endangered Rights by Ending Entanglement, Main Cause of Deaths — See Chart, Photos & Videos (The Conversation, 5/28/19).

• Transient Orcas Seen Preying on Dead Gray Whale in Puget Sound — See News Report (Q13 Fox, 5/27/19).

• Hawaii Moves to Keep Boats, Human Swimmers Away from Spinner Dolphins — See Photo (Hawaii News, 5/23/19). Read more here and here.

• Report: Climate Change Pushing Endangered Rights into Waters where Lack of Protections Put Them at Risk — See Photos (The New York Times, 5/23/19).

• Report: Noise & Water Pollution, Social Disruption, Loss of Habitat & Food — No Wonder Cook Inlet’s Belugas Aren’t Rebounding  — See Photos (Hakai, 5/21/19).

• Advocates Sue to Stop Annual Dolphin Slaughter in Taiji, Japan — See Photo (Reuters, 5/17/19). Read more, see more photos here, here and here.

• New Regs Keep Boats Farther Away from Endangered Southern Resident Orcas of Puget Sound — See Photo & Video (KomoNews 5/15/19).

• Hope is Fading but Not Yet Lost for Saving Last Surviving Vaquitas — See Photos (Earther, 5/14/19).

• Humpack Breaches Really Close to Fishing Boat in Monterey Bay — See Video (New York Post, 5/13/19). See photos here.

• Grays Washing Up Dead from Ship Strike, Malnutrition in San Francisco Bay — See Photos (EcoWatch, 5/7/19). Read more, see more photos here.

• Thousands of Dolphins Dying in Fishing Nets in Bay of Biscay — See Photos (The New York Times, 5/2/19).

March 2019

• Bryde’s Whale Accidentally Grabs, Releases Diver off South Africa — See Photo (People, 3/11/19).

February 2019

• Researcher Captures Drone Footage of Mom & Newborn Humpback Off Hawaii — See Video (Gizmodo, 2/1/19). See more video here.

January 2019

Right whale mother & calf, Amelia Island FL, January 17, 2019 / Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, The New York Times / Click for more.

• Studies Find Microplastics in 100% of Deceased Marine Mammals Examined in UK — See Photos (The Telegraph, 1/31/19). Read more here.

• Advocates Fear Orcas, Belugas Captured in Russia for Sale to China Will Freeze to Death in Icing Sea Pens — See Photo & Video (Independent, 1/26/19).

• Study: Orcas Spending More Time in Northern Waters as Ice Disappears to Possible Detriment of Other Marine Mammals (Science, 1/25/19).

• Good News: 3 Babies Born to Struggling, Dwindling North Atlantic Right Whale Population — See Photos (The New York Times, 1/22/19). Read more, see more photos here.

• Report: We Are Deafening, Stressing, Killing Marine Life from Whales on Down with Underwater Noise — See Photos, Hear Recordings (The New York Times, 1/22/19).

• Black Lab & Dolphin Frolic Together in Australia — See Video (ViralHog, YouTube, 1/21/19).

• Researcher Develops Way to Estimate Gray Whale Age by Size — See Photo (Hakai, 1/18/19).

• Study: Humpbacks from Different Oceans Influence Each Other’s Songs (EarthSky, 1/16/19).

• Florida Red Tide Kills 127 Dolphin, 213 Manatees, Record 589 Sea Turtles — See Photo & Map (EcoWatch, 1/16/19).

• Australia to Allow Seismic Blasting in Endangered Right Whale Calving Ground — See Photo & Map (EcoWatch 1/15/19).

• New Baby Orca Born to Pacific Northwest’s Critically Endangered Southern Resident Community — See Photo (The Seattle Times, 1/11/19). Read more, see photo and video here.

• Fishing Boats Attack Sea Shepherd Ship Monitoring Illegal Fishing in Gulf of Mexico’s Vaquita Refuge — See Photo & Video (EcoWatch, 1/11/19).

• Opinion: Japan’s Exit from International Whaling Commission Could Have Silver Lining (Science, 1/11/19).

• Study: Fossils Suggest Ancient Giant Whale Ate Smaller Ones — See Illos (Science Alert, 1/10/19). Read more here.

• Lucky California Surfer Shares Wave with Dolphins — See Video (ABC News, 1/10/19).

• Whale Song: Every Discovery Prompts New Questions — See Photos, Hear Recording (The New York Times, 1/7/19).

• Young Female Sperm Tangled in Gear Off Dominica in 2015 Survives 3 Years with Help of Family, Shows Up Free & Healthy in 2018 — See Photos (National Geographic, 1/2/19).

• Expert: 2 More of Pacific Northwest’s Last Remaining 74 Southern Resident Orcas are in Failing Health (Oregon Live, 1/3/19).