whales

More than 30 False Killer Whales were stranded ashore off Koh Racha Yai island, Phuket province, 1 of them died. Marine officials, local villagers as well as some foreign tourists tried to rescue some of the whales by putting them on a trailer. See photos below.Watch the YouTube video below.Staff of the Racha Resort and Ban Raya Resort and foreign tourists yesterday evening tried to help a herd of

Researchers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are today examining the remains of a False Killer Whale that was one of some 20 that beached on Koh Racha Yai, some 25 kilometers south of Phuket, late yesterday afternoon.Local hotel staff and tourists rescued another 10 beached animals that could not make their way back to deeper water on their own.False Killer Whales are large “ope

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Pilot whales are the cheetahs of the oceans, focusing their hunting effort on short, intense chases after a few rich food items. They are the first deep-diving whales known to follow such a strategy. Whales such as sperm whales and b

From CNN: "Collisions with ships are the number one cause of mortality, and entanglement in fishing gear is the number two cause," Lecky said.Because this animal is an endangered marine mammal, NMFS, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is charged with designing a recovery plan for them.More than four years of NOAA research showed that speed kills whales.

Last week, more than 100 long-finned pilot whales swam ashore in the Yoff neighborhood of Senegal's capital, Dakar and became stranded overnight. At least 30 whales died. Local fishermen managed to dislodge 48 others and send them back to the ocean. According to environmental experts, this was the biggest mass stranding of whales for 30 years in Senegal.

IMAGE: Divemaster Rainer Schimpf captured this image near Algoa Bay, off Port Elizabeth, South Africa.Orcas (Orcinus orca) have been photographed off the South African coast hunting their smaller cousins the long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis). This behavior is not surprising since orcas are apex predators that have extensive diets.Orca hunting behavior and diet are geographically dep

These whales where spotted in Fintas area last week. They got lost through their yearly journey from one ocean to another and by mistake they entered the Arabian Gulf water. Who would like to swim in Fintas seaside area now a2a_linkname="URGENT - Killer Whales in Kuwaiti [...]

Photo: Dinner Time!Photo: Dessert!Apart from sea lions, penguins, dolphins, elephant seals and guanacas, the main attraction in Peninsula Valdes this time of year (March to early April) is the amazing spectacle of Orcas (killer whales) coming into the shallow waters in Punta Norte and gobbling up sea lions. They literally almost beach themselves in doing this - it's quite amazing as the above pics/videos demonstrate. Unfortunately, the orcas weren't being as cooperative (as pics above) the day we were there and I'm sad to say this is as close as we got!Photo: Orca comes close but not too close!We did get to see orcas, sea lions, guanacos, huge elephant seals and lots of Magellan penguins so it wasn't a 10 hour trip in vain. It basically boils down to luck and weather conditions to be ab

Many of you may know that I live in Maui in the winter, as it is a far healthier option than Chicago. One of the main benefits of doing that is that is also where about 10,000 humpback whales spend their winters. Nearly every day you can see them jumping out of the water with their newborn calves. Thought you would enjoy some great images of them that a friend of mine who is a terrific photographer took in the last few months.

Thinking of going on a cruise but really don't have the money to spend? Well consider trying a 'repositioning cruise'. Now I know this doesn't sound very tempting or exciting and it does actually sound a little confusing, but bear with me. In reality these are one off voyages that cruise ships make when transferring from one cruise region to another. You could be joining the whales and other seagoing creatures migrating either north in the summer or south for the winter. Repositioning cruises are very popular as the low prices are so appealing and also they are generally longer than a normal cruise giving passengers a truly relaxing cruise holiday, unencumbered by frantic days in port. Many cruise fleets have ships spending most of their time in spring and summer in the Mediterranean then

When in early February 2008 two Cuvier's beaked whales were stranded at Saligo and Machir Bay it wasn't known at the time what caused their death. There were a total of five Cuvier's beaked whale strandings on Scotland's west coast in the same time frame, two on Islay, one on Tiree, one on Mull and one on Lewis. Today the Independant newspaper writes in an article that scientists found the probable cause which is blamed to the use of Navy sonar. A quote from the Independant website:The main suspect in the case is sonar, as it is known that beaked whales are highly sensitive to the powerful sound waves used by all the world's navies to locate underwater objects such as submarines. Groups of beaked whales have been killed, with sonar suspected as the direct cause, several times in recent yea

Man I wish I was leading that dive. I was up on the boat and just as my divers went down a few whales went by. They (the whales, the divers had no idea what was coming) turned themselves around and passed outside of the divers as the divers hit the edge of the reef at "Hoover's" then turned around again and headed directly to the divers. A female and her calf went directly overhead while an escort whale passed about 50 feet outside of Cathy and the group.All were thrilled. 2000 or so dives here and I've yet to see a whale underwater, bummer.Anyway, it was a good day of diving. The whales were definitely the highlights, but Cathy also found a yellow frogfish she's been watching grow over the last month or two... and at the end of our second dive (at an undisclosed location) she came up

As you know, whales do not have gills like fish. In fact, because they are mammals, they take in air through nostrils. The nostrils of whales, called “blowholes”, are located on top of their heads. Every once in a while, whales come to the surface of the water and open their blowholes to breathe.

Moko Playing in NZ, Photo: voyagemahia.co.nz You just might cry. Dolphins have a truly great history of love for their fellow creatures on this planet including humans. This is just more proof of how much they care, and it is caring because she knew they were in trouble, and helped. This is not ignorant chance behaviour, this is a creature who knew they needed help and helped a mother and baby. Thank you Dolphins for being here and proving that humans aren't the only ones with a right to this world, there are so many wonderful creatures on Earth. I wish more people would recognize this and stop polluting and harming, we aren't the only ones who love the life of this world. It truly can be a wonderful place. :) Thanks Rick!!Dolphin Rescues Stranded WhalesStory HighlightsWitnesses say

I love whales but sometimes I don't think they're very smart - I keep reading stories about them beaching themselves and stranding themselves. Anyway, this is a stranding story with a happy (and really quite remarkable) ending. Two pygmy sperm whales had beached themselves on Mahia Beach on New Zealand's north island. Conservationists had managed to get them into the water, but they didn't appear able to take themselves back out to deeper water because of a sand bar in their path that seemed to be confusing them. The whales were tiring and it looked as though the efforts to save them were failing. They were facing a death sentence if things didn't change. But then along came Flipper Moko, a friendly local dolphin who frequents the shores of that particular estuary. Proving that she is mo

The Ying and Yang whale motif created by the Whale & Dolphin Coalition in 1977 as part of a campaign of nonviolent direct action against Australia's last whaling station in Albany, Western Australia.The whales on the t-shirt have the box noses of sperm whales, the type of whale being hunted by Australia at that time.'Close Cheynes' is a reference to the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company, the last whaling company in Australia.The Whale & Dolphin Coalition brought to Australia Canadian Bob Hunter, Greenpeace's first president, to lend his expertise honed in the North Pacific against the Soviet whaling fleet ... using Zodiac inflatable boats to put people between harpoons and whales. The Whale & Dolphin Coalition later morphed into Greenpeace Australia.Classic 'Save The Whale' t-shi

Kondole the Whale and the hole in his headKondole was a mean and rude man. One night, the performers during a ceremony needed someone to keep a fire going; Kondole was the only one with fire, and he hid in the bush. The men argued with him, and one got frustrated and threw a spear into Kondole's skull. All the men then turned into animals, including kangaroos, possums, fish and birds. Kondole became a whale and the hole in his head from the spear became his blowhole.Thought to be the oldest continuously maintained cultural history on Earth (50,000 years or more), the Australian aboriginal Dreamtime explains the origins and culture of the land and of its people, but - call me crazy - but I don't believe it. I don't... I mean, it kinda makes sense but I really truly doubt it.Eve and the too

After we published Keoki's story about his encounter with a humpback whale mama and her baby in Hawaii, which had happened many years ago, we came across some more exciting humpback whale close encounters and incredible photos. Let's share with our blog visitors what we've found. Evelyn from Homespun Honolulu blog chose the whale motif as her theme for her '6th Carnival of Aloha' of Hawaii Blogs. Please, drop by and pay these blogs of our Hawaii blog ohana (family) a visit. You will be amazed by the huge variety of Hawaii themes and stories blog owners talked about plus by the incredible humpback whale photo.When I saw that photo my immediate thought was "This should have won a prize by National Geographic!". Well, pursuing the links back Evelyn provided for her humpback whale photo, I jus

As you know, every year thousands of whales and dolphins are slaughtered senselessly in the name of so-called 'scientific research'. The countries that still practice whaling cite traditions and customs. In my neck of the woods rape and pillage used to be customary and in my adopted home, cannibalism! Draw your own conclusions as to the comparisons however if your are disgusted, upset or just concerned about what is going on, why not click on the link, play the game to beat the whalers and sign the petition against commercial whaling. It really only takes a moment… and who knows…maybe even help towards the eventual banning of this barbaric practice.http://www.whalesrevenge.com 786030 Richard Akhtar from Kadavu, Fiji - signed petition on 22nd December 2007

Wish I had some pictures of Humpbacks, Banded Coral Shrimp will have to do. Pat took a shot of these a couple weeks back. I really liked this picture because of the second shrimp being in the background.We've been hearing reports of whale sightings lately. We joined in on a garage sale on the weekend to get some old junk out of our garage and could see them off in the ocean off Kailua town in the afternoon.Maybe this will be the year I get to see the whales underwater? Bob has, Cathy has, even some of my customers have on dives I've captained... I'm about due I hope. Aloha, Steve

Unique orca hunting technique documentedA pack of killer whales uses waves to knock seals off the ice.Matt Kaplan Several orcas work together to make a wave that will wash this seal into the water.Courtesy of the researchersSome Antarctic orcas use the cunning tactic of regularly hunting in packs and making waves to wash seals off floating ice, researchers have confirmed.The behaviour was first seen in 1979, but at the time it was considered a one-time moment of orca ingenuity. Now, Ingrid Visser of the Orca Research Trust in New Zealand and her colleagues report on six further observations of the animals using group hunting behaviour to divide ice floes, push them into open water, and create waves to wash animals off them into their waiting jaws. The behaviour has been seen only along the Antarctic Peninsula and nowhere else in the world, they note, including other icy orca habitats in the Arctic and Antarctic. The report is published1 in the journal Marine Mammal Science , and a rece

Despite the fact that she’s got a warrant out for her arrest in Japan, Hayden Panettiere (Who needs to get a new last name immediately) was ultimately unable to be a hero to whalekind when she joined a protest earlier this month. Japanese vessels have now set off towards Antarctica to hunt for rare humpback whales following a send off that involved the theme from Popeye the Sailor Man and a crowd waving flags emblazoned with smiling whales. What a strange goodbye party. Wouldn’t it make more sense if they had like Xs on the whales or maybe a circle with a slash through it? Call me crazy but I don’t think the whales are going to be pulled into port with cheshire grins on their faces. I’m not a hunting critic or anything like that, but if you know humpback whales are near extinct and you have a culture that’s hunted whales forever, wouldn’t it make sense to help preserve them? If whaling is important to your culture, what happens after they’

I think last Friday night may have felt like the most amazing night of my life.In one night, within two hours, Apes played Irving Plaza, opening for Noisettes and Spank Rock at the AfroPunk Showcase, and then rushed over to the Knitting Factory to play the Panache/LovePump Showcase. Both shows were just fantastic. I was playing music that I love, with people that I love, for people that I love, and my perception was that we were totally and completely mentally locked together. I felt like we killed it-- it in the best way possible.Read the complete blog entry here

Now you can track whales on google maps! Scientists from Opération Cétacés and the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation have placed satellite tags on 20 humpback whales to track their journey from South Pacific to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. The last I saw they were near New Zealand. This is real scientific research, not like Japan who sends whaling fleet to hunt whales, put

In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Navy over eco-zealots in vacating a lower courts order to stop using high powered sonar off the coast of California. The US District judge that put the original order in place said the Navy’s practice of using the high power sonar blasts would put over 30 endangered species at risk. It was a 2-1 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said we are at war in two countries and this was necessary for the Navy to do. What a pleasant surprise. For a change. ~RJH Michelle Malkin article link National security, 1; whales, 0 A federal appeals court allowed the Navy today to resume using underwater sonar blasts in anti-submarine warfare tests off the Channel Islands in Southern California, saying the nation’s military needs outweigh the safety of endangered whales.In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco suspended an April 6 injunction by a federal ju

Fiji - Naigani Island - scuba diving trip, dive in Fiji.Pilot WhalesIt was about 20 nautical miles from Naigani Island on a heading of 42 degrees to reach the Vatu Wall, but the trip was worth it. About halfway to this outer reef, we encountered a school of pilot whales heading in the same direction as us. “Captain Rambo” stopped well ahead of them and we waited quietly to see what they would do. Unexpectedly, they came directly towards the boat and then hung around. Neil went straight in with the video camera, wearing his “Nitrox Serious Diver” T-shirt and no fins! The others went in with the first mask and snorkel they could grab then came back for their fins. Everyone raved about their close encounter with these intelligent, inquisitive mammals.I was sure that the pilot whales would not come in close enough to see underwater, so I decided to take pictures from the boat instead. Well, they came right under us a few times, clicked at the snorkelors, and my old Nikonos

Saturday 7th July 2007. Spotted today from the oceanfront of Paradise were 4 Humpback Whales! Just meters from the lava rock waterfront, a pod of Humpbacks played and swam in the warm waters of the Somosomo Straits. Normally passing by the resort and the Straits from August to November, the whales arrived early to spend the morning splashing in the waters of Paradise Taveuni. Paradise resort

Once again, reading the list of photo-credits at the back of this book is like reading the index in a "Who's Who in the world of Underwater Photography." This is an exciting book with colour photographs (though occasionally a map or diagram) on every single page and the standard of reproduction is as good as it gets. As with "Sharks & Rays" (a book in the same series), the content is also as

A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation. From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population

A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation.From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.

A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation.From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.

A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation.From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.http://www.diveaway-fiji.com/ http://diveawayfiji.blogspot.com

A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise. Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation.From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.

Hundreds of people with coolers, kids and dogs in tow lined the shores of a West Sacramento shipping channel today, eager to catch a glimpse of the two hapless whales that have swum 70 miles into the heart of California and gained international renown. more...

A pod of Humpback Whales were spotted as close as 50 meters from the Paradise oceanfront. Sighted in the morning and again in the afternoon, guests were amazed at the proximity of the whales. Some of the guests had just returned from a Jet Ski expedition when they were greeted back to Paradise by the gentle giants.

NewScientist.com news service It’s a long way to go for a warm bath. Each winter, humpback whales travel from the Antarctic to the northern tropics to find warm water in which to raise their young, researchers have discovered. The migration is the longest for any mammal ever recorded. Kristin Rasmussen at Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, US, and colleagues photographed the tails of humpbacks wintering off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. From their individual tail patterns they identified seven of the same animals after they had returned to the Antarctic. One mother and calf made the 8300-kilometre (5160-mile) trip in 161 days. Using satellite data, the team also recorded sea-surface temperatures for the sites where humpbacks spent the winter. “Wintering areas occur where waters with temperatures between 21°C and 28°C are found,” says Rasm

In some potential good news for the anti-whaling movement, it appears that Nicaragua will no longer vote for alongside pro-whaling nations at the International Whaling Commission (IWC).I say "appears" only because the article in question is in Spanish and the Babel Fish translation was nearly incomprehensible.The pro-whaling camp has been making significant progress in recent years, thanks in large part to the Japanese efforts to stack the international panel in their favour. Japan has been bringing "sympathetic" countries into the IWC by exchanging foreign aid and IWC membership fees for pro-whaling votes.The pro-whaling camp gained a key victory last June when the IWC voted 33 to 32 in favour of the eventual return of commercial whaling. In highly contested and tight voting environment, Nicaragua's apparent shift in policy will be key for efforts to maintain the commercial whaling ban. If any Spanish speaking readers would like to give their interpretation, your input in the comme

In some potential good news for the anti-whaling movement, it appears that Nicaragua will no longer vote for alongside pro-whaling nations at the International Whaling Commission (IWC). I say... Earth-centred news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming

NewScientist.com news service It’s a long way to go for a warm bath. Each winter, humpback whales travel from the Antarctic to the northern tropics to find warm water in which to raise their young, researchers have discovered. The migration is the longest for any mammal ever recorded. Kristin Rasmussen at Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington, US, and colleagues photographed the tails of humpbacks wintering off the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. From their individual tail patterns they identified seven of the same animals after they had returned to the Antarctic. One mother and calf made the 8300-kilometre (5160-mile) trip in 161 days. Using satellite data, the team also recorded sea-surface temperatures for the sites where humpbacks spent the winter. “Wintering areas occur where waters with temperatures between 21°C and 28°C are found,” says R

I thought this piece from the Travel Daily newsletter was quite amusing. At a lunch in Sydney, Australia, yesterday hosted by Visit Wales, marketing director Roger Pride described a number of confusions about the destination. He said that on a recent trip to New York to promote Wales he told a taxi driver what he did for a job, and received the response “Great animals - do all you can to save them”. And at another event he was on a stand promoting Welsh cuisine labelled “Cheese from Wales’ and was asked several times how it’s possible to milk a whale. The Owgen Falls, Snowdonia Photo courtesy of Visit Wales

Yesterday evening we went down to the picnic area to the south of the Place of Refuge and there were whales right off the shore, maybe 30-40 yards off shore. I didn't have my camera or I could've had some nice tail and back shots.Today Pat and I did a shore dive up north of Kua Bay with some friends and there were whales everywhere on the horizon. Here's a simple little reef scene I took with my Olympus sp350 in movie mode. I took it in low resolution and Youtube compresses it even more so it's not much to look at... but turn your volume up a bit and use your imagination and you can hear the whales in the background off in the distance (no kidding). You'll hear lots of static popping, which is actually snapping shrimp in the coral heads, me breathing a lot, and something in the background that sounds like a cross between cows and cellos - that'd be the whales. Hopefully later in the winter I'll be diving where they are louder, we heard them all the dive today but it was fai

{mosgoogle right}NEMURO, Hokkaido -- Corpses of two rare Cuvier's beaked whales were washed up on the Pacific Ocean side of the Nemuro Peninsula in Hokkaido, just three weeks after another whale believed to be of the same kind was found dead in northern Hokkaido, it has been learned.The cause of death in each case remained unknown, but researchers say it is possible the whales' ears were damaged i