|
WHALES
|
|
|
|||
|
The population of this genetically distinct species has shrunk to a critically low number in the Alaskan waters of Cook Inlet, despite a 7-year harvest limit on hunting. The National Marine Fisheries Service will conduct a review of possible threats to determine if the inlet belugas need to be put on the Endangered and Threatened list. Noise, development and pollution will be investigated as possible causes. |
|||
| Whale Net
|
|
||
| Whales and Dolphins | Whales, dolphins and porpoises are warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals that live in every ocean on the planet. Many of them make long migrations and have very interesting behavior and ways of communicating. Learn more about cetaceans and what is being done to protect them. See links to Whales and Dolphins on left navigation bar. (WorldWildlife.org) | ||
| Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises | Learn about the scientific taxonomic order that cetaceans are categorized in, number of species, behaviors we are aware of, how they navigateby echolocation, and what scientists know and don't know about why some of these species "strand" themselves on beaches. (Nat'l Marine Mammal Laboratory - NOAA) | ||
|
|
"Orcas are a key indicator species of what’s happening to the
health of marine ecosystems around the world." "...at the top of the ocean food chain, they’re also “sentinels of the contaminants” all around humans." |
||
| Ocean Alliance | The Ocean Alliance (Whale Conservation Institute) works to protect whales and the oceans they live in through their global research, scientific expeditions, education programs, and raising awareness of the threats to the ocean environment and cetaceans. They work to influence the general public and world governments to adopt laws to protect ocean habitat and species. Links are provided to educational information, videos, photos, sounds, reports from Voyage of the Odyssey and research scientists, and resources to learn all about these magnificent creatures. | ||
|
Discovery
School's A-Z Science |
Whales
are mammals, not fish. Learn about baleen whales (right whales, gray
whales, and rorquals), and toothed whales (sperm whales, beaked whales, belugas and
narwhals, dolphins and porpoises, and river dolphins). You may be surprised to learn where whales nostrils are and how they breathe when they come to the surface. Baby Blue Whales gain about 200 pounds a day on their mother whale's rich milk, and they grow to be the largest animals on Earth. Click on the illustrations in this article to enlarge the pictures. |
||
| Gray Whales with Winston |
Winston, the whale-watching dog (the one with the drooling tongue and the binoculars), is so excited to tell you about his friends, the Gray Whales, that he can't stop wagging his tail. You will love the fun and colorful illustrations on this site, while you "bone-up" on your knowledge about this important species. List of resource links is provided to help you find more information about whales, porpoises and dolphins. Winston wants you to be a friend to the Gray Whales too. Will you? | ||
| Center for Coastal Studies |
Known as "those guys who rescue whales," CCS is the only institution (at the time of this writing) on the East Coast of the U.S. with federal authorization to perform whale rescues, working with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Coast Guard to disentangle whales from fishing gear at sea. | ||
| "The Right
Whale Named Metompkin: Story of Survival" |
One of the world's rarest animals is discovered entangled in 300 ft. of heavy fishing net and in very serious danger. This northern right whale is the most endangered of all the large whales. Read the story of the daring attempt by rescuers to cut the fishing net loose in dangerously high seas. Metompkin is very important for the survival of her species. | ||
| Whale Songs | Join the crew on the research vessel, Song of the Whale, for a 2-week excursion in the Azores Islands. Read the detailed journals of the American science teacher onboard and click on the pictures and sound links. What an unbelievable experience to swim alongside such gentle giants. | ||
| Harmful Fishing | A YEN FOR
PROTECTED SPECIES PROTECTED WHALE SPECIES STILL BEING HUNTED AND KILLED Harpooning the Whale Ban "Awash in whale, Japan can't eat it all" |
||
| INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WHALES | Scientists have found
evidence that Alaskan Bowhead whales can live 150-211 years. As much
as two centuries! National Geographic News In winter, Gray whales swim almost 5,600 miles from Alaska to the warm waters of Mexico where they will give birth. Then each April they swim all the way back up to Alaska. National Geographic News |
||
| Fewer Gray Whales |
Researchers warn
Gray Whales may be in trouble, as fewer whales have migrated to their
breeding grounds in Mexico's lagoons this year. |
||
| Blue Whale | The Blue Whale is the largest living animal on Earth. | ||
 Return to Ocean Home |
|||
